Vietnamese citizens are granted electronic COVID-19 certificates after receiving two vaccine doses. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Vietnamese authorities have started granting electronic COVID-19 vaccine certificates for people to travel abroad, provided they have received two doses of vaccine.

Đỗ Trường Duy, director of the Information Technology Department at the Ministry of Health, made the announcement at an online conference between Health and Public Security ministries on November 8.

He said that previously, the Preventive Medicine Department had issued a paper certificate that had been accepted in a number of countries, allowing Vietnamese nationals or foreigners who have been vaccinated to enter.

The two ministries of Health, and Information and Communications had agreed on the standard form for the electronic certificate.

 “This electronic certificate meets the standards of the WHO and the European Union. It is the vaccine passport for Vietnamese citizens," Duy said.

The electronic certificate granted by Việt Nam will allow Vietnamese nationals to enter a number of countries after the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed on a mechanism to recognise the use of vaccine passports. Việt Nam will also recognise and allow citizens of other countries to enter its borders with vaccine passports.

According to Đỗ Trường Duy, this week, the Ministry of Health would work with the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Information and Communications to discuss a number of key technical issues,  including individual privacy protection and avoiding duplication of vaccine passports.

The vaccine passport issuance process will see the local health department co-ordinate with police to verify a citizen's information, and the locality will sign up to confirm that the citizen has had two injections. The Ministry of Health will then sign the certification.

From November 20, Việt Nam will start piloting receiving international tourists with vaccine passports to Phú Quốc, and then other tourist sites such as Khánh Hòa, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ninh will follow. VNS