WHO has issued a final version of this document, on 27 August 2021, now titled, “Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates: Vaccination Status - Technical specifications and implementation guidance”.
In response to the Statement on the sixth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and the need for WHO to support Member States to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, at scale, with digital tools, WHO has developed this guidance and technical specifications document, in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary group of experts. The Guidance aims to support WHO Member States in adopting interoperability standards for digital documentation of vaccination status (i.e. Smart Vaccination Certificates).
It is critical to reiterate that the Smart Vaccination Certificate (SVC) is not intended to serve as an “immunity passport”. Furthermore, as per the “Interim position paper: considerations regarding proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travellers”, currently, proof of COVID-19 vaccination is not recommended as a condition of departure or entry for international travel. Countries are advised to take a risk-based approach to international travel in the context of COVID-19. Additionally, along with the digital implementation of SVCs, it is recommended that the COVID-19 vaccination status should still be recorded through the paper-based International Certificate for Vaccination, and Prophylaxis based on the model presented in Annex 6 of the IHR.
Due to the constantly evolving context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this document is intended to have three releases prior to the release of the final version, with public feedback and input considered for all three releases. This document is the first of three releases. Release candidate 1 (this document) contains the key business requirements for an SVC for national adoption that includes the prioritized scenarios of use, use cases, key workflows, a core data set with preferred terminology code sets, and an initial FHIR Implementation Guide for the content in Release Candidate 1. This document will also begin to outline the international trust framework and a high-level overview of a governance mechanism.
As this is Release Candidate 1, which is an initial release of the technical specification for the Smart Vaccination Certificate, no digital solutions have met this specification yet.
As part of the public consultation, you can provide constructive feedback on this document by 12 April 2021. Please use the link to the feedback form to provide your comments.
For any additional inquiries, please contact smartvaccination@who.int.