Denmark Plans to Introduce ‘Vaccine Passports’ for Travelers Soon
COVID-19 vaccine passports may soon become a reality for [all] Europeans, including Danish citizens after Denmark’s Ministry of Health and the Elderly recently announced that it is working on a “vaccine passport” for Danish travellers, which will soon be available.
The Ministry has confirmed for DR News that it is working on a document that Denmark citizens can obtain after they are vaccinated, which document would sever them as a ‘vaccine passport’ to travel to the countries where vaccination becomes mandatory for entry.
“The Ministry of Health and the Elderly is working on a covid-19 vaccine passport, which is expected to be ready by early 2021,” a spokesperson of the Ministry told DR News.
Denmark has already vaccinated around one per cent of the population with at least the first of the two Pfizer/BioNTech shots. It is possible that Denmark will also soon make vaccination a requirement for those attempting to enter its territory.
The idea of a “vaccine passport” has been welcomed by many, including the industry director for Dansk Industri Transport Michael Svane, who says that this kind of passport is in demand among many companies.
“A vaccination passport is the way for us to put the restrictions behind us and to a much greater extent get out and fly,” he says, asserting that this is a good step towards the reopening of the society.
The head of the secretariat at Dansk Live, which represents Danish festivals and venues, Esben Marcher, is also happy with the announcement of the “COVID-19 travel passport” for those vaccinated.
“I think many festivals will use it because it can help ensure that there are no outbreaks during the implementation,” he says expressing her hopes that the combination of a quick test and a vaccine passport could help in the organization of “Corona-free festivals” this summer.
At the very beginning of December 2020, Cyprus became the first EU Member State to announce its plans on the abolishing entry requirements like testing and quarantine for travellers who get vaccinated against COVID-19 starting from March 2021.
Other countries have later announced similar plans, including Greece, the Prime Minister of which, Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote to the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging her to introduce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate that would ease travel between member-states in the bloc.
At the same time, private companies are already working on the development of apps, which would make it easier for governments to identify vaccinated persons. A Swiss company, for example, has developed the CommonPass app, which aims to transform citizens’ vaccine and test status into a QR code that can be scanned at the airport.
The app is being tested by several major airlines and even the airports’ international industry organization, Airports Council International.