UK helps Vietnam issue COVID-19 digital vaccination certificates

Hanoi (VNA) - With the assistance of the British Embassy, the Ministry of Health (MoH) will deploy the issuance of COVID-19 vaccine certificates following standards issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) to facilitate travel both domestic and abroad.

As heard at a workshop held in Hanoi on March 22, the system is part of the cooperation between the ministry and the PATH non-profit organisation, with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK.

Getting closer to international standards

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan emphasised the importance of the project in issuing COVID-19 digital vaccination certificates.

Through a QR code, the certificate displays the user's personal and vaccination information, including the full name, date of birth and nationality. The code also includes the disease targeted, number of injections received, vaccine supplier, and certificate number.

The information is digitally signed, encrypted, and packaged in a 2D QR format. The vaccine passport issuance process consists of three steps, with the passport valid for 12 months.

Thuan said Vietnam has recorded a high COVID-19 vaccine coverage in the region and the world, and is entering the phase of socio-economic recovery.

The country has worked on the issuance since late 2021 in preparation for welcoming back foreign tourists, the official said, adding that Vietnam officially reopened its door for international visitors on March 15.

British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said the development of the system marks a stride in Vietnam’s digital transformation, which promotes data transparency and facilitates data-driven policy making.

He pledged that the British Embassy and PATH will further support the MoH regarding the work in time to come.

Vaccine passports be issued soon

Director of the ministry's Department of Information Technology Do Truong Duy stated more than 202 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered nationwide. The vaccination management platform has recorded over 193 million injections, equivalent to 96% of data entered.

Nguyen Ba Hung, deputy head of the department’s health data centre, said that from December 20, 2021, the ministry has issued Decision No. 5772 that regulates the form and process for issuing vaccine passport certification. The health body has actively coordinated with the Ministry of Information and Communications and related agencies to build a vaccine passport certification system. It has also worked to modify and supplement the "digital signature" function of the vaccination management platform.

Last week, the ministry piloted the system at three medical facilities, namely Bach Mai Hospital, K Hospital and E Hospital, with the system proved to be ready for operation.

According to Hung, an electronic vaccine passport functions as its paper equivalent, but makes it easier for people to travel and trade internationally. Currently, per data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam's vaccine passport form has been recognised bilaterally with 17 countries.

In terms of the process, people when going to vaccinate must declare accurate information. After that, the vaccination facilities are responsible for checking the national database on the population to verify the information.

According to Hung, on the COVID-19 PC application, currently the Information Technology Department, the Ministry of Health is working with the Ministry of Information and Communications to build a function to display vaccine passports. Therefore, if people already have the correct information on this application, they will be automatically shown in the vaccine passport. The output is a QR code of international standards, which can be used to go abroad.

The passport will be available on the PC COVID-19 app. Currently, the department, is working with the Ministry of Information and Communications to develop a function to display vaccine passports on the app./.