Digital proof of vaccination
What you need to know now
The CovPass app complements the yellow vaccination booklet.
© imago images / Political-Moments
In times of Corona, technology should once again make our lives easier. What you need to know about the digital vaccination certificate.
After the Whitsun vacation is before the summer vacation! Many can no longer wait for their next vacation, but are already asking themselves: How will the corona situation develop by then? Another problem is handling the vaccination card. On June 14th, the digital vaccination certificate should really get going – among other things in pharmacies. But what exactly is it? How does the digital vaccination certificate work and what happens to the old, yellow vaccination booklet?
Just an additional offer
The digital proof of vaccination – for example in the form of CovPass app – is to be understood as a supplementary possibility to be able to document the vaccinations received. Information about the vaccine that you received or the time of vaccination should then be easily stored digitally on your own smartphone. The use of the app is of course not mandatory. The yellow vaccination booklet or the printed vaccination certificate can still be presented as proof.
How do I get the digital vaccination certificate?
The Federal Association of German Pharmacists’ Associations (ABDA) has announced that many German pharmacies will be able to subsequently issue the proof free of charge from June 14th. Citizens must be fully vaccinated and be able to prove this – for example through their vaccination booklet. At first, however, a little patience might be required. “In the first few days, the number of pharmacies that make the offer will probably still be limited. However, we are assuming that the number of pharmacies will very quickly reach the four-digit range,” explains Thomas Dittrich, Chairman of the German Pharmacists’ Association a message. According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (41), individual federal states have also started sending postal certificates to citizens who have already been vaccinated. In addition to the pharmacies, doctors and the vaccination centers also issue a corresponding certificate.
CovPass app: this is how it works
Recovered, vaccinated or freshly tested? The corona status of citizens should be easily accessible for everyone via CovPass and serve as a national counterpart to the green EU certificate. The free app, which was presented last week, was developed for the Federal Ministry of Health and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The respective status lights up either red or green. The latter means recovered, vaccinated or tested, red means the opposite. Alternatively, users can also use the already known Corona warning app which has also received a corresponding verification function via an update.
And this is how it works: First, Android or iPhone users have to install one of the free apps in the usual way via the Google Play Store or App Store. The data on the corona vaccination are then transferred to the smartphone via a QR code, which later also serves as evidence and can be scanned by those responsible. The QR code for scanning your own for the first time is on a certificate that citizens receive when they are vaccinated.
To prevent fraud when showing it, the owner of the app must always have an identification document, such as an ID card, with him. An internet connection is not necessary to be able to show your digital proof. Since the 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.
What happens with my data?
When creating the necessary certificate, all necessary data is sent once to the RKI in order to sign it. The information is then deleted again immediately. No central vaccination register is planned, the data collected are only permanently stored on their own smartphones. The app, which is supported from iOS 12 and Android 6, can be deleted at any time. The information previously saved is removed from the smartphone, as the RKI assures.
When the QR code is scanned via the CovPass app, the surname, first name, date of birth, illness (against which the vaccination has been carried out), vaccine, product, manufacturer, dose number, total doses, vaccination date, country and issuer of the technical certificate as well as a Identification number saved on the smartphone. However, the code that can be presented only gives the other person information about surname, first name, date of birth and vaccination status.