Vietnam to ensure “safety first” with “vaccine passport” scheme

Standing members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control have discussed the preparation of technical and policy solutions to implement the “COVID-19 vaccine passport” scheme while ensuring the principle of “safety first”.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that from the perspective of the health sector, the “COVID-19 vaccine passport” is essentially a certificate confirming the holder has had two shots of COVID-19 vaccine, regulated in line with the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and international health quarantine regulations.

Passport holders will not be quarantined and tested for COVID-19, but some other countries still require testing.

Vietnam is working with countries around the world on the acceptance of the passport through QR codes.

To get the “COVID-19 vaccine passport”, people will provide their personal information when receiving a vaccination, which is checked on a validation system. After two injections, the relevant information is confirmed by a QR code. When going abroad, people’s information will be verified when scanning the QR code.

The Ministry of Health and Viettel are piloting the passport scheme at COVID-19 vaccination centres, to evaluate the capacity and compatibility of these facilities.

Meanwhile, relevant technical infrastructure to receive foreign visitors with COVID-19 vaccine passport is expected to be completed and ready for use from April./.

VNA