The European Covid digital certificate (health pass) became effective on 1 July 2021. It is accepted by the 27 countries of the European Union as well as Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
Ireland is also among the states that can issue and accept the certificate. However, the implementation of the system has been delayed due to cyber attacks.
The health pass is in the form of a QR code (digital signature) that can be printed out when needed. This code provides access to certain health data; Covid-19 vaccination, immunity developed after contracting the disease, negative PCR or antigen test, etc. The pass conforms to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The European Union approves four vaccines:
- Pfizer-BioNTech,
- Moderna,
- AstraZeneca,
- Johnson & Johnson.
People who have received other vaccines, even those approved by the WHO, may be denied entry to some EU countries.
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