My Vaccine Pass live

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

My Vaccine Pass has gone live allowing people to prove their Covid-19 vaccination status.

The pass includes a person’s name, date of birth and a QR code, enabling them to access places within New Zealand that require proof of vaccination under the new Covid-19 Protection Framework, such as large-scale events and hospitality venues.

A separate International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate for travel overseas is also now available on request. New Zealand has chosen to first use the European standard, called the EU Digital COVID Certificate, which is recognised by 49 countries, with more expected to come.

Both passes are stored in a QR code that can be downloaded to a phone and stored in an Apple or Google Wallet, or printed out, and people without access to a phone can request a paper copy.

The Ministry of Health is working with Spark subsidiary MATTR to develop the vaccination passes for use domestically and internationally. Also to develop the free Verifier App, which will be made available on the App Store and Google Play, for anyone to use to scan and verify a My Vaccine Pass.

Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins says the Verifier App is "just about done"and will be releases within the next couple of weeks.

More than 3.4 million eligible people in New Zealand are already fully vaccinated and can now log onto My Covid Record to request for the free pass or call 0800 222 478.

There were reports this morning of the My Covid Record website being overloaded with requests. The Ministry of Health website says if people are unable to login or are experiencing other issues to please be patient.

Minister Hipkins described the pass as people’s “ticket to enjoy the extra freedoms that will come with the Covid-19 Protection Framework”.

“We’re asking for patience and for people to wait for a couple of days to ease any demand on the IT system and call centre staff,” he says.

A process has been put in place for people who have had their Covid-19 vaccinations overseas to have these recognised in New Zealand and submit an application for My Vaccine Pass.

My Vaccine Pass is valid for 6 months from date of issue as booster shots may be required to ensure ongoing protection against Covid-19.

“The vaccination certificates are created from data held in the Covid Immunisation Register that records your COVID-19 vaccinations. The vaccination certificate system has been designed to keep your details private with vaccination proof securely coded into the QR code,” a statement from Minister Hipkins says.

Eventfinda says it is the first New Zealand ticketing provider to integrate with My Vaccine Pass with Ticketholders using the Eventfinda platform now able to upload their pass to their My Eventfinda account or add it during the ticket purchasing process.

Eventfinda scanning apps will verify both Eventfinda tickets and My Vaccine Passes by scanning a single code on the day of an event.

If you would like to provide feedback on this news story, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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