World Health Organization officials intrigued by ‘e-vaccination certificate’

World Health Organization officials are monitoring the development of an “e-vaccination certificate” for beneficiaries of the impending COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are looking very closely into the use of technology in this COVID-19 response, one of them how we can work with member states toward an e-vaccination certificate,” Siddhartha Datta, program manager for vaccine-preventable diseases at the WHO’s Europe office, told reporters Thursday.

That statement reflects a growing interest in the ability to track the use of vaccines, particularly among people who follow a protocol that calls for multiple shots. A low-tech certificate already is being adopted in Wales, where healthcare officials plan to begin administering the just-approved vaccine created by Pfizer and BioNTech next week.

“Those receiving a COVID-19 vaccination will be given a credit card-sized NHS Wales immunization card, which will have the vaccine name, date of immunization, and batch number of each of the doses given handwritten on them,” Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said this week. “These will act as a reminder for a second dose and for the type of vaccine, and it will also give information about how to report side effects.”

The vaccine won’t be efficacious until the second dose is administered, Welsh officials emphasized Friday when alerting citizens that the first shots will be given on Tuesday.

“So even those people who will be vaccinated in Wales in December will not see the benefit of that vaccine until into the new year,” First Minister Mark Drakeford told reporters.

Drakeford’s team assured Welsh citizens that “the vaccine will not be mandatory.” And while some European officials, most notably the Estonian government, consider the possibility of invoking vaccine certificates to permit expanded travel after months of border closures, WHO officials remain skeptical of that idea.

“It is not a passport of immunity supposed to ensure that its holder is protected against the disease,” said Catherine Smallwood, WHO senior emergency officer for Europe, on Thursday. “We do not recommend immunity passports, nor do we recommend testing as a means to prevent transmission across borders.”

Related Content