The German health authorities have announced that the country has issued around five million vaccination passports as a part of the European Union’s digital pass system.
The country launched its issuance of the certificates last week and offered the possibility to users to download their COVID-19 vaccination status on a smartphone app for simpler use.
However, the German Health Minister Jens Spahn stressed that the digital pass will become available alongside the traditional yellow paper vaccination booklet of Germany.
Pharmacies across Germany started to issue certificates on Monday to persons who have been fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus but still do not have any proof of that. In addition, the ones who have already received all the required vaccine doses will be able to receive a digital certification retroactively.
The German authorities pointed out that travellers have already used the passport at European borders without any problem, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The EU Vaccination Passport has been established by the EU in order to facilitate travel within the bloc.
As the number of German citizens wishing to obtain the pass increased tremendously, the Association of Pharmacists called for patience while admitting that the system is something new and untried.
Nonetheless, by 11 am on Monday, the Association of Pharmacists revealed that around 13,000 pharmacists had issued 140,000 passes.
The pass provides a QR code given to everyone who has been vaccinated. Using the QR code, the holder’s data can be uploaded to other apps intended for such purposes, such as COVPass or the Corona warning app.
The pass was initially planned to function as an EU-wide travel document, but the plans were modified due to different travel regulations in other countries.
Pharmacists issuing the passes are to receive between €2 and €18 compensation for the service. However, it was noted that there is no fee for the individual who obtains the pass as the cost will be covered by the government.
Some pharmacies stumbled upon difficulties when registering to the system and had to turn people wishing to obtain a pass away. However, the health authorities insisted that the issues that the pharmacists were having were only teething problems.
Previously, Germany announced that the country will lift the travel warning for most countries in order to bring back normality in the country as the number of citizens who have already been vaccinated is continuously increasing.
