Taiwan will start offering on Thursday a new format of its digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate, which can be used in countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday.
The new format follows the SMART Health Cards framework launched by the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), which Taiwan joined on May 20, CECC official Pang Yi-ming (???) said at a press briefing.
According to the VCI website, SMART Health Cards are issued by the governments of 24 U.S. states and territories, Canada, Japan, and Sydney, Australia, among others.
The version of the SMART Health Card issued by Taiwan will have a QR Code, as well as information on all COVID-19 vaccine shots received by the card’s holder in Taiwan, Pang said.
The current certificate format, which follows the European Union’s Digital COVID Certificate system, only displays the most recent vaccine shot received by an individual, Pang said.
The government’s Digital COVID-19 Certificate website will be closed from 6 p.m. Wednesday and reopen on 8 a.m. Thursday, when both vaccination certificate formats will be available, according to Pang. People can apply for and hold both versions.
The digital certificates can be directly saved onto a phone or computer, printed out, or be sent to the certificate holder’s email.
As countries have adopted different border restrictions and vaccination certificates, Pang noted that travelers should read up on the relevant requirements before embarking on their trip.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel