Sweden has announced that it will start developing digital vaccine certificates, to be used on trips and potentially more, following similar action from Denmark the day before.
The two Nordic countries said that certificates of the coronavirus vaccine would be designed to allow citizens to travel abroad, but they also hinted that they could be used to check if someone was vaccinated if they participated in any sporting or cultural event. .
“With a digital vaccine certificate, it will be quick and easy to prove that vaccination is complete,” said Swedish Minister for Digital Development, Anders Ygeman, in a statement.
The Swedish government has said it expects to have infrastructure to issue digital certificates by June.
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Denmark, which announced its program a day earlier, said it would initially publish an online record that could be accessed to check someone’s vaccination status, which it hopes to have in place by the end of February, while developing a long-term technical solution.
Although the Danish government said it would postpone a final decision on whether “corona passports” could be used for more than just travel – pending further research on whether vaccinated people can still transmit the virus – the goal is that “contribute to a gradual, solid and appropriate reopening of Denmark”.
“It is absolutely crucial, if we are to restart Danish society, that companies can get back on track,” acting finance minister Morten Bødskov said in a statement.
Both countries also said that efforts would be made to make national certificates compatible with international certificates under discussion at the World Health Organization and the EU.
The WHO has proposed the idea of digital certificates for the vaccine in the past, but in January said it is currently opposed to being used as a requirement for travel.
The head of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, supported in January the idea of using certificates to identify the people who received the jab, but added that “if this gives priority or access to certain goods, this is a political and legal decision that has to be discussed at European level ”.
Christian Wigand, a spokesman for the commission, reiterated on Thursday to reporters that the issue had been “discussed at the last meeting of the European council between heads of state and government and concluded that work in a standardized and interoperable form of evidence that vaccination for medical purposes must continue ”.
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Asked whether countries could move forward individually, Wigand said simply that “we always push for more coordination, we will continue to do that, especially when it comes to travel and travel restrictions.”