CoWIN to add date of birth for those travelling abroad

CoWIN to add date of birth for those travelling abroad

Neha.Madaan@timesgroup.com

Pune:25.09.2021

People fully inoculated against Covid-19 and wanting to travel abroad will have a vaccination certificate with their full date of birth on the CoWIN app. As of now, the certificate refers only to age based on the year of birth. The new feature may go live by next week.

A senior Union government official with the CoWIN management portal said the introduction of the new feature stems from ongoing technical discussions between India and the UK on CoWIN certification. A senior official with the portal told TOI, “We believe that the UK wants the date of birth format in the CoWIN certificate as per WHO standards — in the ddmm-yy format — for international travellers. Hence, the same feature will be introduced in certificates for those going abroad.”

The UK government’s relaxed travel rules come into force from October 4. “You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated (plus14 days) with a document (digital or paper-based) from a national or state-level public health body that includes, as a minimum, forename and surname(s), date of birth, vaccine brand and manufacturer, date of vaccination for every dose, country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer. If your document from a public health body does not include all of these, you must follow the non-vaccinated rules. If not, you may be denied boarding,” the website added.

A senior official from the ministry of health and family welfare told TOI, “No changes are required in the current CoWIN certificates as the format is in sync with WHO standards.”