General

From July 1st, the European Union officially launched the digital vaccine passport.

27+ countries open to isolation-free intercommunication

The digital passport of the European Union's uniform specifications, also known as the "Digital Green Certificate" (Digital Green Certificate). Passengers can use the passport if their new coronavirus screening results are negative, have been infected but have recovered their health, or have been vaccinated.

When the quarantine personnel at the border scan the barcode displayed on the App, they can immediately know the holder's name, date of birth, which vaccine to receive, and the date of inoculation.

At present, the scope of application of the digital vaccine passport covers the 27 member states of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

The EU stated that the current EU digital vaccine passport is valid for 12 months, counting from the date of official launch on July 1, 2021. The European Union sees the document as a temporary measure to restore freedom of movement in the region.

Once the new crown pneumonia pandemic is over, the EU will suspend the issuance of this health passport.

Open the door to the U.S.

While opening up the border control measures of its member states, the European Union announced in mid-June that it would relax restrictions on the entry of tourists from countries and regions such as the United States.

However, the United States has not reciprocally opened up the ban on European tourists. It only announced the relaxation of restrictions on the return of American citizens from Germany and other EU countries to the United States. However, citizens of other EU countries still face considerable obstacles to entering the United States. The Biden administration has yet to lift the travel ban on Europe.

It can be seen that the United States has also maintained a cautious attitude towards the openness of the EU.

Not approve of India

The European Union has not yet included the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India in its certified vaccine list, causing dissatisfaction in India.

Indian official media stated that India has conveyed its position to the EU on this matter. New Delhi will formulate a policy that if the EU certifies vaccines in India, India will also recognize EU vaccines and exempt all foreigners holding EU “vaccine passports” from entering the country. Compulsory quarantine.

This means that if the EU still insists on rejecting India’s AstraZeneca vaccine, it may cause India to take reciprocal measures.

However, there is news that EU member states can each adopt flexible vaccine certification methods, implying that India can also "curve out of the siege" in this way.

According to a Reuters report on the 1st, nine European Union countries including Germany and Austria have actually included the Indian AstraZeneca vaccine in their vaccine certification list.

According to Radio France Internationale, there are 4 vaccines currently approved for marketing in the European Union: Pfizer vaccine, Modena vaccine, British AstraZeneca vaccine and Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Four other vaccines are in the evaluation stage, including the Russian "Satellite V" vaccine, the Chinese National Medicine vaccine, the German CureVac vaccine, and the US Novavax vaccine.

Two Chinese vaccines have not been approved but not completely hopeless

People from China and other countries want to go to EU countries, is it okay?

Although the World Health Organization has approved the two vaccines of China Kexing and Sinopharm for emergency use. However, these two vaccines have not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency, so people who have received Chinese vaccines and want to go to EU countries may not be exempt from isolation.

However, although the Chinese vaccine has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency, it does not mean that there is no hope for Chinese tourists to travel to Europe.

The EU vaccine passport is not a travel document, nor is it a prerequisite for people to have freedom of movement. In addition to vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, countries can also decide on their own whether to recognize vaccines approved by certain countries but not approved in the European Union. Greece and Cyprus have recognized Chinese vaccines. In addition, many Hungarians have also been immunized with the Chinese National Medicine vaccine.

Singapore may be the first to mutually recognize and exchange "vaccine passports" with China

One thing worth noting is that Singapore has close contacts with China, and China’s epidemic is properly controlled. Singapore has long listed China as one of the countries that are exempt from quarantine entry.

According to the current rate of vaccination among Singapore residents, it is expected that the minimum requirement for universal immunization of 70% of the population will be achieved in September this year. By then, the mutual recognition and exchange of vaccine passports between China and Singapore will definitely be on the agenda for the first time!

China's "vaccine passport" facilitates Chinese visas

In fact, as early as March 7 this year, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi announced that China would launch an international travel health certificate to achieve mutual verification of information such as nucleic acid testing and vaccination, and facilitate safe and orderly exchanges of personnel.

Minister Wang Yi stated that the use of this health certificate is to provide a "practical Chinese plan" for the recovery of the world economy and the facilitation of cross-border personnel exchanges.

The use of China's international travel health certificate is still based on a voluntary principle, and it is only for Chinese citizens.

On March 8, the Chinese version of the "International Travel Health Certificate" WeChat Mini Program was officially launched. This is a comprehensive certificate that can display the holder's nucleic acid, serum IgG antibody test results, and vaccination status and other information.

It contains an encrypted QR code for verification and reading by relevant departments in various countries. In addition to electronic display, it can also be printed to generate a paper version.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the current global epidemic is still continuing, the world economy is in urgent need of recovery, and the need to facilitate personnel exchanges is becoming increasingly urgent.

Recently, countries have accelerated vaccination, and mutual recognition of vaccines has become the core content of international mutual recognition of health codes.

Although China's vaccine passport is only for Chinese citizens for the time being, non-Chinese nationals can get the convenience of a Chinese visa after being vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine.

As early as March of this year, including the Chinese embassies in Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Israel, Thailand and other countries, all issued the "Notice on Providing Convenience to People Vaccinating the New Coronary Pneumonia Vaccine Produced in China".

Although interoperability between countries is the general trend, the safety of the people should still be the top priority. Delta virus is rampant in Europe, and the epidemic situation in various countries is not fully controlled, and universal immunization has not been achieved. The EU dares to take the lead in connecting borders. I am afraid that only Europeans will bear this risk!