(2min read)

It has recently been announced that international travellers will be asked to demonstrate their Covid vaccination and testing status using the NHS smartphone app. This update has been confirmed by the UK government, with many travel experts suggesting that “vaccine passports” could be required for years to come. 

The NHS app is currently connected to GP services in England and linked to personal health data. Many people already use this app to request prescriptions, message their doctor and organise online consultations. The app is separate from the current NHS Covid-19 app– which is currently used for contact tracing.  

It has also been announced by the UK’s transport secretary, Grant Shapps, that work has begun on developing this app to show whether individuals have been vaccinated and tested for the virus. Shapps has also confirmed that a vaccine certificate will also be added to the existing NHS app. 

However, numerous media outlets have suggested that there may be some drawbacks to this development. The main drawback being the complexity of obtaining the record of your covid vaccination that could subsequently see GP surgeries overwhelmed with requests. But the government has also made it clear that it wants a broader process of Covid certification that includes recent test results to enable young people (who are yet to be vaccinated) to be able to travel.  

Several countries and organisations have started to propose their own vaccine passport arrangements, see below: 

• European officials have announced plans for an EU-wide “Green Digital Certificate”. This would allow anyone vaccinated against Covid, or who have tested negative, or recently recovered from the virus, to travel within the region. 
• The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched its own app, the ‘IATA Travel Pass’ which it trialled with Singapore Airlines. 
• New York State has launched a digital-wallet style Covid-19 passport called the Excelsior Pass. The White House however has ruled out a compulsory federal passport. 

• UK- based healthcare app ‘My GP’ launched a simple vaccine certification feature last week, in the form of a green tick for users 12 days after their second dose of the vaccine. 

You can also find live Covid-19 information via the Covid-19 Travel Information page that is powered by Sitata and displays current international travel controls during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the number of daily new confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide.  

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