The main purpose of COVID certificates is to make travel easier during the pandemic, especially during the summer holiday season. European certificates will come in three types — confirming vaccination against coronavirus, a negative test, or recovery after having had the illness. The certificates are free.
People who have contracted coronavirus will be able to receive a certificate no earlier than 11 days after a positive PCR test. It will be valid for 180 days. Antibody tests are not yet a basis for issuing certificates.
The certificates are valid in 31 countries: the 27 countries of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, which are not part of the EU but are part of the Schengen area. Most of them had already started issuing digital certificates earlier.
According to the European Commission, seven countries have not yet joined the unified certificate verification system, but are already technically ready for it. They have been given a transition period until August 12 to fully implement the new certificates.
The EU unified COVID certificate system: how it works and where to get it
The certificate can be obtained in both digital and paper form. In the first case, an individual app must be downloaded to use it. Each EU or Schengen country is creating its own program for this. In Germany, two mobile apps are used for this: CovPass and Corona-Warn-App.
In addition, a digital system has been created to verify the authenticity of the certificate. The main element of the certificate is a QR code. By scanning it, authorized persons will be able to check whether the certificate is forged. The European Commission has created a portal through which countries exchange keys to verify the authenticity of QR codes. Exactly who will receive the keys for checking certificates is decided by the authorities of each country.
Exactly who issues COVID certificates depends on each country. It is envisaged that people will receive certificates, for example, at vaccination centers or doctors’ offices where they were vaccinated.
How can citizens of Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine get a COVID certificate?
COVID certificates can be obtained not only by those living in the EU. Citizens of third countries, for example Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus, are also entitled to them. But to do so, they will first need to enter the EU legally. At the border, they present proof of vaccination or testing obtained at home. Which proofs are recognized is decided by each EU or Schengen state. And once on EU territory, one can request a European certificate. Whether it is issued or not is also decided by the authorities of each country.
There is another option. EU regulations provide for the recognition of digital certificates issued by third countries. For this, their issuance system must be compatible with the European one. The European Commission checks such compatibility.
The Ukrainian government began dialogue with Brussels on mutual recognition of certificates back in April. And from July 1, the country is beginning beta testing of digital vaccination certificates. Russia, meanwhile, has not yet made any requests to the European Commission regarding recognition of certificate equivalence.
What is the EU COVID certificate for?
The EU emphasizes that the certificate is not a condition for travel within Europe, but it makes them easier. In other words, if a person has such a certificate, this does not yet mean that they can travel without any restrictions. It all depends on the rules in each individual country or region. If local authorities, for example, lift certain restrictions for fully vaccinated residents of their country, these same rules should also apply to citizens of other countries with a coronavirus vaccination certificate.
For which vaccines are COVID certificates issued in the EU?
COVID certificates are issued for all vaccinations administered in the EU, regardless of the vaccine. The other question is recognition. All vaccines registered in the European Union are recognized without exception. There are currently four of them: BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson. A European Commission spokesperson clarified that the EU recognizes these four vaccines even if they are produced at factories not certified by the European regulator.
In addition, the European Union may also recognize vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in emergency situations. This list includes the Indian analogue of AstraZeneca, Covishield, as well as the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac.
As for the Russian vaccine Sputnik V it still has no approval from either the WHO or the European regulator EMA. However, a certificate can also be obtained for this vaccine — in countries where the Russian-made product is used. But whether such a certificate is recognized is decided by each EU country independently.