Vietnam’s vaccine passports have now been recognized in 81 countries and territories, said Deputy Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Doan Khac Viet at a press conference today [May 12].

Vietnam's Covid-199 passport. Source: MoH

“The result is thanks to the cooperation between Vietnamese Government agencies and partners from other countries,” said Viet.

As of present, Vietnam has signed agreements for mutual recognition of vaccine passports with 20 countries, including the US, Japan, UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Maldives, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, Singapore, Saint Lucia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Iran, Malaysia, and the Dominican Republic.

On May 11, the European Commission confirmed the recognition of Vietnam’s digital vaccine passport. Under the decision, all 27 EU members would accept Vietnamese vaccine passports under the same conditions as their own, and those holding such certificates will be allowed to enter the bloc under similar rules applied to bearers of the EU’s certificate.

The Ministry of Health first issued vaccine passports on April 15, with the certificate following standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU. So far,  it is estimated that  10 million Vietnamese have been issued digital passports.