As more and more experts believe that Covid-19 will not be completely wiped out, countries around the world are taking turns planning for the future of living with the epidemic.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has supported the initiative to use a vaccine green card, on the basis that vaccinated people pose higher medical risks.
However, this plan immediately faced opposition from Andrew Barr, Premier of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), who warned of difficulties in technology, policy and people’s opposition.
While the Australian government has not yet officially decided on a nationwide vaccination certification system, fully vaccinated Australians can now obtain a digital Covid-19 certificate through the MyGov app or
For those who need a vaccination certificate to travel abroad, the information will be integrated into their chip-embedded passport, along with an equivalent QR code on a smartphone.
For people returning from abroad, this technology is expected to notify them if they need to be quarantined.
However, at the local level, states are applying different regulations regarding vaccine green cards.
The states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria are recording a sharp increase in the number of new infections.
Vaccine green card trial on the Service NSW application of the state of New South Wales.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced last week that fully vaccinated people will be allowed to enjoy freedoms when 70 per cent of the eligible population has completed all doses.
NSW plans to trial and then introduce the vaccine green card in October. Data from the Australian Immunization Register will be integrated into the Service NSW app, to help the hotel and restaurant industry implement the regulation.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also said the state will deploy its own version of the vaccine green card.
State officials said they are working to integrate vaccination certificates into the Services Victoria app, to make implementation of the regulations easier for people and businesses.
Meanwhile, Premier Barr of the Australian Capital Territory said that the region’s Check-In CBR application does not authenticate user identities and cannot be used to confirm vaccination status.
In addition to the diversity in medical certification applications, Australia also faces another difficult issue: how green card regulations will apply to people who cannot be vaccinated or F0 have recovered from nCoV infection and
The Australian government has issued a declaration form specifically for cases exempt from Covid-19 vaccination, updating the criteria for exemption from vaccination and must be approved by a doctor.
All levels of government using vaccine green cards will need to consider whether exemptions are appropriate or necessary, including for people who have been infected with nCoV or are advised not to be vaccinated for up to 6 months.
Victoria is considering expanding exemptions to people who are unwilling or unable to be vaccinated.
A common way to manage unvaccinated people, for whatever reason, is to require certification of negative Covid-19 test results.
Whether Australia will integrate negative test results into its health information system still needs more time to be answered.
A person scans a QR code to access a public location in the state of Victoria.
Some other states in Australia will have to race to build new technology if they want to pursue vaccine green card regulations in the near future.
Western Australia and South Australia are currently focusing on requiring healthcare workers and interstate travelers to have vaccination certificates, but there has been no move to require a vaccine green card for local operations.
Surveys show that the Australian public supports the implementation of these measures and this is considered a favorable condition for the Australian government to implement vaccine green card regulations.
