Table 3.
Approach of countries toward a vaccine certificate for COVID-19
| Country | Government issuing immunization passport? | Vaccine certificate details |
|---|---|---|
| Estonia30,31 | Implemented | VaccineGuard developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Guardtime (See Table 2) |
| Denmark37,38 | Implemented | Has launched its own Corona passport (coronapas). The passport is being used to lift the restrictions and re-open the economy. Users are required to have a negative test result within the previous 72 hours, a VC or proof of infection within the last 2 to 12 weeks |
| USA39,40 | Not considering it | USA does not have plans to develop a national vaccine certificate although some states like New York are issuing Excelsior Pass to those who get vaccinated. |
| UK41 | Implemented | NHS app to be used for travel |
| Pakistan16,17 | Under consideration | Vaccify by Trust Net Pakistan (See Table 2) |
| India23–25 | Implemented* | DigiLocker – A government platform for issuing and verifying documents and vaccine certificate digitally (See Table 2) India is also using CoWIN and Aarogya Setu App to download the VC |
| Russia42,43 | Under consideration | Covid passports would possibly be in a digital form |
| Finland44,45 | Plans to implement | The vaccine certificate would be available on “My Kanta” which is a nation-wide service platform for accessing health records. It will be available for use at the end of May 2021 |
| Indonesia46 | Under consideration | There are several processes that must be passed for Indonesia’s national agency BPJPH to issue a halal certificate: application, examination, determination, testing, checking, fatwa, and finally the issuance of the certificate |
| Australia47 | Plans to implement | It will allow people to access digital proof of vaccination via the Express Plus Medicare app and MyGov accounts. Approval is expected by March 2021 A paper form will also be available through Services Australia or through the vaccine provider |
| Italy48,49 | Plans to implement | Will use EU’s Green pass. More details will be released end of June 2021 |
| Sweden37,50 | Plans to implement | Will use EU’s Green pass |
| Canada**51,52 | Under consideration | Details are not yet released |
| Switzerland53,54 | Plans to implement | Details will be released by the end of May 2021 |
| Spain**55,56 | Plans to implement | Spain will develop their own vaccine certificate, releasing details end of June 2021 which will work in tandem with the EU Green pass |
| Israel**57 | Implemented | Green pass provides both digital and downloadable paper certificates. It shows whether the user is vaccinated and/or has a recent negative test |
| EU Commission**58,59 | Plans to implement | Officially introducing Digital Green Certificate which will be available in both digital and paper format. Vaccine certificate will show details of inoculation and brand used, negative test certificates, and medical certificates for people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 180 days. Intended for travel between all EU countries. Plans to become available from July 1, 2021 |
*As of June 2021, India has implemented the VC solution.
**Additional search identified the use or consideration of vaccine certificates. At this time, we do not have sufficient data about the EU countries that are in support of the EU commission’s decision to implement vaccine certificates.
“Under consideration” refers to the state of exploring and deciding, “plans to implement” refers to the state that the product will be released soon, and “implemented” refers to the product available for the people to use.