Microchip technology invented by Swedish startup company Epicenter" is now being presented as a possible way to carry around a COVID-19 vaccine passport under a person's skin, according to a viral video. "Beep boop beep: Your vaccination record has been verified," says the caption of the video. "Imagine showing your COVID-19 passport with just a flash of your arm," the video says at its beginning, showing a person holding out their arm and scanning it with a mobile phone. The video explains the microchip uses pre-existing technology the startup company was already developing to employ "near-field communication" (NFC) and send data to any compatible device. Smartphones are listed as an example of a possible data receiver. "Implants are a very versatile technology that can be used for many different things," says Epicenter's Chief Disruption Officer Hannes Sjoblad in the video. "Right now it is very convenient to have a COVID passport always accessible on your implant." A microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, can be embedded under a person's skin, either under the arm or between the pointer finger and thumb, according to Sjoblad. After the chip is implanted, data such as a vaccine passport can be stored on it using NFC-compatible devices. There is pushback on implants from lawmakers, advocacy groups, and the public. Hannes Sjoblad reportedly organized "transplant parties" for his employees starting in 2014, where they would gather in a fun, social setting to get chips embedded into themselves.
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