The Covid green card, with different names depending on the country, is an electronic or hard copy document that helps the holder prove that he or she has been vaccinated against Covid-19 or has recovered from nCoV infection.
Privileges for Covid green card holders vary from country to country.
Israel, one of the world’s most successful vaccination programs, first introduced a temporary green card system earlier this year.
People hold up Covid green cards before entering a performance in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 24.
Green cards in Israel are issued to people over 12 years old who have been vaccinated or recovered from the virus.
Green card holders are allowed to participate in major events and enter certain public places such as gyms, hotels, theaters, restaurants and bars, tourist attractions and places of worship.
Israel temporarily suspended the implementation of the green card program in June, when most restrictions were lifted thanks to a sharp decrease in the number of infections.
The European Union (EU) in July also implemented a vaccine passport system, applied in all 27 member countries along with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Citizens of these countries, along with legal residents, can print out or present an electronic copy of their travel document through the app.
Eligible subjects include those who have been fully vaccinated, recently infected with nCoV and recovered, or have just tested negative for nCoV.
Anyone who owns a travel document is exempt from testing and quarantine when traveling across borders within the EU, or 4 other European countries included in the program.
Some EU countries also apply their own type of certification, such as health cards in France.
Italy also quickly followed France, declaring that proof of vaccination or immunity will soon become a mandatory requirement for activities such as dining in, or entering places such as gyms, swimming pools, and museums.
Printed version (left) and electronic version of the vaccine passport in the EU.
Meanwhile, China last year issued a QR code system to classify people by different colors.
Instead of electronic travel documents, this color health code system displayed in the WeChat application has been used by China to control travel if people are in outbreak areas.
However, in March, China also began rolling out an electronic version of Covid green cards, which contain information about the holder’s vaccination status and test results, seemingly mainly for travel.
Both Chinese citizens and foreigners in the country can get Covid green cards.
Meanwhile, many countries are still cautious about the Covid green card program like the US.
Some states, including California and New York, have created electronic certificates, which help people confirm vaccination records and convert them into QR codes on their phones.
People who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Australia are also issued an electronic certificate on their phone through the Express Plus Medicare app, but there are no accompanying perks.
Australian Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said in the future this certificate could help people move across the border whenever there is a blockade, or if several areas in a state are blocked because of an epidemic.
Britain, the country that announced it would launch the Covid green card program at the end of this month, decided on September 12 to cancel the plan.
Previously, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said `full vaccination will be a condition for entering nightclubs and other crowded places`.
In Southeast Asia, Cambodia became a `vaccination phenomenon`.
Cambodia issues vaccination certificates to people in the form of hard plastic cards, produced at the Institute of Medical Sciences.
Cambodia vaccination card sample.
Cambodia’s vaccination card has the full name in Khmer and English of the person receiving the injection, phone number, passport or ID card number, vaccine name and date and time of injection, as well as a QR code printed on the card.
General Ith Sarath, deputy commander-in-chief of the Cambodian army, the force in charge of part of the country’s vaccination campaign, said he had imported an additional card production line that can print 100,000 cards per day, to ensure all
Observers say it is too early to conclude whether the Covid green card program is effective or not.
