CovPass
Health Minister Spahn presents proof of vaccination app
Jens Spahn at the presentation of the digital vaccination certificate.
© imago images / photothek
The way for the digital proof of vaccination is clear: Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn presented the new CovPass app on June 10th.
The digital vaccination certificate can replace the familiar yellow booklet in the future. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (41) presented the new CovPass app at a press conference. Users should soon leave the conventional vaccination certificate at home and then over CovPass or the well-known Corona warning app be able to prove via smartphone that they are fully vaccinated. But Spahn also assures that nobody is forced to use the digital alternative, the vaccination booklet remains valid.
A “satisfied Federal Minister”
“You see a satisfied Federal Minister of Health,” Spahn opened the conference. The course of the pandemic is positive, which he attaches to three “Is”. The number of infections is falling significantly, the beds in intensive care units occupied by Covid-19 patients are emptying and the number of vaccinations is increasing. Around 47 percent (39 million) of Germans have according to the Federal Minister of Health received at least one corona vaccination so far. Almost 24 percent (19.8 million) are completely vaccinated. For Spahn a “very encouraging development”. One can “dare to have more freedom, more normalcy” again – and the digital vaccination certificate should also help with this.
A field test of the CovPass was started at the end of May. The system behind the digital vaccination certificate should now be rolled out “this week”. According to Spahn, pharmacies, medical practices and vaccination centers will join in “step by step”: “It starts now […] Not all of them are already connected today or tomorrow […] The first ones are already there. “By the end of June, the CovPass should be available to everyone who would like to be vaccinated or who have already been vaccinated. The new CovPass app should then be available for free download in the coming hours.
The Corona warning app, in which Spahn himself wants to use the offer, has also been supplemented with a corresponding function for digital proof of vaccination. The aim of the minister is that the vaccination certificate can also be used in this way abroad – for example in Amsterdam, Mallorca or Helsinki. A European solution is to follow before the summer holidays.
How does the app work?
After downloading it from the Google Play Store or the App Store, Android and iPhone users can read a QR code from a certificate that they receive when they are vaccinated. Citizens who have already been vaccinated can request proof of this from a participating pharmacy from June 14th, as the Federal Association of German Pharmacists’ Associations (ABDA) recently confirmed.
According to Spahn, the first federal states are also in the process of sending the certificates to people who have already been vaccinated in the coming days and weeks. Anyone who still needs to be fully vaccinated can also get the certificate from the doctor or the center. Because full corona vaccination protection is only achieved 14 days after the last vaccination, the QR code can only be used as proof of a complete vaccination from the 15th day after the last spade.
For the creation of the certificate, all necessary data – including vaccination date, vaccination status, name, date of birth and other information – are sent once to the RKI to be signed. The information is then deleted again and only saved on the user’s smartphone. Once the QR code has been scanned in using the corresponding app, it can later be shown when requested in restaurants or in retail and read by the other person. However, this only provides information about surname, first name, date of birth and vaccination status.
In order to take action against possible fraud, the user must also be able to prove his identity when showing it – for example with an identity card. The app, which is supported from iOS 12 and Android 6, can be deleted at any time. The stored information is then removed from the smartphone, assures the RKI.