The European Union has officially introduced a digital certification for Covid vaccination on Thursday. All EU citizens and residents can apply for COVID certification from their authorities free of charge. The digital certification system has originally proposed by the European Commission in March. It was to restore freedom of movement within the bloc after the restrictions.
The document has intended to make travel within the Unions’ countries easier by eliminating quarantine requirements or additional testing for those with passports. This will be available in smartphone or paper format. It will also including a QR code that authorities can use to determine a traveler’s COVID status.
EU countries can decide to allow entry of people who have only received one vaccination dose or who have completed. But vaccines must have approved only by Member State authorities such as Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine or China’s Sinopharm.
Commission indicates whether a person received all recommended doses of a European Medicines Agency approved vaccine. Also had a negative PCR test in the past 72 hours or had recovered from the disease within the past six months.
After several rounds of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union agreed on this regulation. The EU budget also helps Member States to avoid discrimination by EUR 100 million in providing affordable PCR or antibody tests to unvaccinated persons.
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