The European Commission has confirmed plans to digitalize the World Health Organization's (WHO) yellow vaccination card.
This would be part of a global WHO digital health certification network based on the EU digital vaccination records from the Corona pandemic, say the Commissioners for Justice, Didier Reynders, and Health, Stella Kyriakides.
In a letter to Germany's Christian Democrat politician Peter Liese, they further explained that the envisaged solution would not be limited to vaccinations against Covid-19 or other individual diseases.
Brussels and the World Health Organization announced a partnership in digital health in June. The WHO is introducing the certification network "to strengthen global preparedness against increasing threats to health," the Commission said when they launched the initiative.
To do this, the WHO is to adopt the system behind the EU certificates for vaccination or recovery, including its principles and technology. "So if a new health threat emerges, we will be able to respond more quickly," the commissioners wrote.
Liese thinks the digitalization of the vaccination card is the right thing to do - everyone knows the situation of trying to find the yellow booklet he said, but with a digital version, "You always have it on your mobile phone," he told dpa.
"Also for potential other pandemics, an established infrastructure is a great advantage, then we are prepared for it."
Asked about possible data protection concerns, he said, "If our data protection standards became standard worldwide, that would be very welcome. The fact that the WHO is using the EU system means that we have done well."
