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Covid passports: What are different countries planning? Covid passports: How do they work around the world?
(4 months later)
Will vaccine certificates enable summer travel? Countries are deciding whether to implement Covid passports to allow people to attend events and travel
The need to get a Covid vaccine certificate before you travel across Europe this summer is closer to becoming reality. As time goes on, more countries are considering turning to Covid passports as a way of opening up and letting people travel.
EU leaders have backed introduction of a "Digital Green Certificate", but some countries, inside and outside the EU, have already announced plans for "vaccine passports". These passports are usually accessed via an app on your phone or in some cases, paper versions are available.
How will the EU vaccine passport work? Some nations have already installed their own versions of a Covid passport which has allowed people to attend large scale events. But with some countries lagging behind with vaccinations, there is concern that some could be left behind.
The aim of the EU pass is to get travel moving across borders, "without discrimination", but getting it all organised in a short space of time will be a significant challenge. EU leaders have called for legal and technical work to go ahead "as a matter of urgency" while maintaining restrictions on non-essential travel for the moment. The original plan is for the certificate to be in place for the summer but that deadline could be hard to meet. Here's how a range of countries have adapted vaccine passports and what they involve.
The certificate, either digital or on paper, will enable anyone vaccinated against Covid, or who has tested negative, or recently recovered from the virus, to travel across all 27 member states. The EU also wants to include non-EU countries such as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. UK
At the moment, "higher risk" settings such as nightclubs don't have to ask for proof of vaccination.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans "to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather" by the end of September.
Under these new measures, people would show proof of vaccination by using the NHS Covid Pass app in England.
The NHS Covid Pass - or equivalents in other parts of the UK - will also allow fully vaccinated adults to avoid quarantine when they return from most amber-list countries. But even if they have the pass, they will have to self-isolate on arrival in the UK from France.
According to the government, more than 30 countries, including Greece and Spain now accept the pass but holders must check their destination's entry rules before booking and keep checking before travelling.
EU
An EU vaccine "passport" is being introduced across all 27 member nations - plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Citizens of these nations can download it or obtain a paper copy - at no cost. It is also available to non-EU nationals living legally in member states who have the right to travel to other member states.
Because the UK is no longer in the EU, the certificate is not available to most Britons.
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Key to the digital certificate is a QR code - a machine-readable graphic code made up of black and white squares - that contains personal data and the EU's Commission says it will be safe and secure. It is working with the World Health Organization to ensure the certificate is recognised beyond Europe. The certificate can be issued if someone has been vaccinated, recently had a negative Covid test or recently recovered from the virus.
How will Denmark's vaccine passport work? Anyone holding the certificate should be exempt from testing or quarantining when crossing a border within the EU.
Denmark plans to use its "Coronapas" vaccine passport domestically from Easter - but it could also be used later as a tool for international travel. Other EU nations also have their own certificate or vaccine passport.
Like a number of European countries, Denmark already has a secure digital ID system called NemID, and the Coronapas will be linked to that. NemID gives Danes access to various online platforms, including a digital listing of an individual's health records and test results. France
The pass will play a key role in easing Danish Covid restrictions - most of which are expected to end by 21 May, once all the high-risk groups and over-50s are fully vaccinated. Authorities have set up a health pass that will allow people to access restaurants, bars, planes and trains.
Danes will have to show proof of vaccination, proof of earlier infection or a recent negative test to access services such as hairdressers, restaurants and cinemas. At present, venues that accommodate more than 50 people already require proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
Sweden has been considering similar plans. The pass will be required by all adults from the beginning of August and include children over the age of 12 from 30 September.
Israel already has a vaccine passport system - how does that work? In order to obtain the pass, people must have proof they are fully vaccinated, recently tested negative or recently recovered from the virus.
Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world. More than half the population have already received two vaccine doses. Last month it was able to begin easing a nationwide lockdown. On 24 July, about 160,000 people protested across the country against the Covid pass and mandatory vaccinations for health workers.
Israel
Israel introduced a vaccine pass earlier this year. It required people to show proof of either vaccination or having recently had the virus. The pass helped increase uptake of the vaccine, especially among younger people.
After infection rates declined, authorities decided to end the scheme.
But the government has now announced plans to reinstate the system amid a recent surge in cases.
The green pass system will only allow those over the age of 12 who are vaccinated, recovered from Covid-19 or who present a negative test result to attend large events and enter certain public spaces, the Times of Israel reports. The new pass will come into effect from 29 July.
User shows Israel's green pass app on their smartphoneUser shows Israel's green pass app on their smartphone
A "Green Pass" is available to anyone who has been fully vaccinated or has recovered from Covid-19. They have to show it to access facilities such as hotels, gyms or theatres. The pass will apply to cultural and sporting events, gyms, restaurants and dining halls, conferences, tourist attractions and places of worship.
It is available as a paper certificate or in an app, which links users to their personal health ministry data. China
The app is opening up opportunities for international travel. Israel has struck deals with Greece and Cyprus so Israeli citizens with passes can travel to those two countries. China introduced a QR code system last year which categorised people into different colours. A green colour allows people to move around without restrictions while someone with a yellow code may be asked to stay at home for seven days.
However, several issues have been reported with the system since it was rolled out. The codes are a combination of big data and information submitted by the users themselves.
Foreign nationals cannot get hold of the pass, nor can vaccinated citizens who are not insured with an Israeli healthcare provider. Experts have expressed privacy concerns over the smartphone app, and the government has admitted the police do not have the staff to check if businesses are complying with the new rules. Many public spaces in China require people to show their QR code in order to gain entry.
What are the challenges? In March, China launched a digital health certificate that shows the holder's vaccine status and test results. The certificate is available to foreigners in China as well as Chinese nationals. It is hoped that Chinese citizens will be able to use the certificate as a vaccine passport in other countries in future.
Within weeks of the World Health Organization confirming that the coronavirus was a global pandemic, dozens of companies were rushing to announce plans to offer digital health certificates or, later, vaccine passports. But many seemed ignorant of the huge regulatory, ethical and technical challenges involved. It's not yet clear which countries China is in discussions with to get its certificate recognised.
For any such certificate or passport to work, it is going to need two things - access to a country's official records of vaccinations and a secure method of identifying an individual and linking them to their health record. And if such a digital certificate is to be accepted by the border force of another country, it will probably have to adhere to common standards set by organisations such as the WHO or the EU. A green QR code allows people to gain access to a range of public spaces
There are also all sorts of privacy and human rights issues - how confident will users be that their extremely sensitive health data will be stored securely and not put to other uses by an app developer or their government? And will the very existence of vaccine passports mean those who choose not to have one will have their freedom curtailed? Many countries have opted not to have a vaccine passport.
This may be a particularly hard sell in the UK where, unlike in many countries, there's long been opposition to the idea of carrying a national identity card. US
How will Estonia's QR code passes work? In April, the White House ruled out introducing mandatory federal Covid vaccination passports, saying citizens' privacy and rights should be protected. However four states have active vaccination apps, according to MIT Technology Review.
Estonia, one of the world's most advanced digital societies, is planning to start issuing digital certificates in the form of a QR code, showing proof of vaccination by the end of April. But some states have also opted to introduce their own measures to try to increase vaccination rates.
Individuals will be able to download their own unique code to prove they have been vaccinated and showing how many doses they have received. They can either print it off or store it on a smartphone. California will require all state employees and health care workers to show proof of vaccination or be tested weekly from next month. New York City will adopt a similar measure from mid-September requiring its municipal workers - including police officers and teachers - to be vaccinated or face weekly tests.
"Launching our national solution early gives us the possibility to address potential obstacles in the use of the certificate," said Kalle Killar from the social affairs ministry. Having the system in place also meant Estonia was ready to join the EU's certificate from day one, he added. Australia
Is the UK planning to introduce vaccine passports? At present, inoculated Australians have a digital certificate on their phones but it has no rights attached to it.
Although foreign holidays are not currently allowed, the role vaccine passports could play in travel is being discussed. The country's tourism minister Dan Tehan has said that a vaccine passport could give people "the right to be able to travel across borders when there are lockdowns, or if there are parts of a state which have been locked down, because of an outbreak".
"If another country says you can't come in unless you have the jab, then we want Brits to be able to demonstrate that," Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. He also said that giving more freedoms to people who are vaccinated would encourage more to get the jab.
Domestically, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs that people visiting pubs and other venues could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate before entering.
He told MPs he was "thinking very deeply" about the matter, and said that it "may be down to individual publicans".
The PM says drinkers will not need to prove they have had a vaccine when pubs in England open for outside trade from 12 April
A government source has told the BBC the option of allowing people to show a negative test is also being looked at.