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BEIJING – China has launched an international vaccine health certificate in anticipation that it will soon be recognized by other countries, facilitating global travel.
The country is among the first in the world to issue a vaccine passport that shows the details of a traveler’s Covid-19 inoculation, as well as the results of nucleic acid and antibody tests.
Chinese citizens can register for the certificate in a WeChat mini-program launched on Monday (March 8), the day after Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the initiative at his annual press conference.
The passport, available in both digital and paper formats, will help promote global economic recovery and facilitate cross-border travel, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“The pandemic is still with us, but the world economy must restart and people-to-people exchanges must resume without further delay,” said ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
China is willing to discuss with other countries on establishing mutually recognized mechanisms for health codes, he said.
Several countries like Denmark and Sweden are working to develop their own health passports. In Britain, more than 200,000 people have signed a petition that could be debated in Parliament against the introduction of a vaccine certificate, as it could “be used to restrict the rights of people who have rejected a Covid-19 vaccine.”
Meanwhile, the International Air Travel Association, which has 290 member airlines, is launching a travel app that will allow immigration authorities and airlines to collect and share the results of travelers’ vaccination and Covid-19 tests. .
Singapore Airlines will be the first airline to use this app on its flights from Singapore to London starting March 15, with another 30 airlines testing the app in the next two months.
China’s recently released electronic health certificate comes with an encrypted QR code for governments to access personal information.
But it’s unclear how useful this health code is currently, or which countries are in talks with Beijing to recognize its vaccine passport.
It still requires inbound travelers to complete a 14-day quarantine.
Among the proposals put forward by delegates at this year’s ongoing parliamentary session are several calling for a vaccine passport that could help restore travel and relax quarantine rules.
On the vaccine development front, China has approved 17 candidate vaccines for clinical trials, of which seven have entered phase three trials and four have been approved for use in the country.
China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the country will achieve herd immunity by the middle of next year after it vaccinates up to 80 percent of the population.
Its goal is to inoculate 560 million people by the end of June and another 330 million by the end of the year, state media reported.
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