How they’ll work, how to get one
By the end of this month, vaccine passes will start to be rolled out and will be required for entry into many events and venues.
If you’re wanting to head to a concert or festival, entry will be denied if you’re without a pass.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the passes are now being trialled, and will be available by November 29.
New Zealand company MATTR has been contracted by the Ministry of Health to develop the passes.
What will they look like?
The vaccine pass will be a scannable QR code. The holder’s name, date of birth, and the pass expiry date will also be printed on the pass. They’ll be available in a number of forms.
MATTR is developing the passes so they can be saved as a PDF and either saved as a screen grab on your phone, or printed out as a physical pass.
The company is also building the passes so they can be added to either an Apple Wallet or Google Pay on your smartphone.
Third party digital wallets can also be used to store the vaccine pass. When you pull the pass up on your phone using a digital wallet, it shows the same information as the printable PDF version.
How do I get one?
By signing up to the My Covid Record website.
The first step is to either sign up for the website online, or call the Ministry of Health’s My Covid Record helpline – 0800 222 478.
Once you have signed up to that database, you will be able to use that record to get a vaccine pass – when they become available, that is.
Where will I need a vaccine pass?
Anywhere but essential services.
If you need to go to the doctor or the hospital, or to get food from the supermarket, you will not need a vaccine pass. But if you go to a concert or festival, to a restaurant or out shopping, you may be required to present your vaccine pass to gain entry.
That decision will be left to the business owner or event organiser. Requiring a vaccine pass will be optional.
There will be incentives for businesses that do require a vaccine pass. The government has said those businesses or events will be able to open more freely than those that don’t require a pass.
Why aren’t you calling it a certificate?
Because it’s not a certificate, it’s a pass. The difference is subtle, and has pros and cons.
Auckland University researcher Andrew Chen explains.
‘‘The key difference is that a certificate contains the vaccination record, and a pass does not,’’ Chen said.
‘‘The main difference here is privacy. A certificate would contain what is essentially health information about which doses of which vaccines you got, on which date.
‘‘A pass just says this person, and the time that the pass was issued, meets our criteria for being vaccinated.’’
As mentioned, the pass will show only a person’s name, date of birth, and the expiry date of the pass.
‘‘It’s better from a privacy perspective because the venue doesn’t have a record of, or doesn’t get to see what doses of what vaccine you got. They don’t need that information.
‘‘They just need to know that, as far as the Covid Protection Framework is concerned, that person is allowed inside.’’
But Chen said that means the passes won’t be very flexible.
‘‘As rules change as to what counts as being vaccinated, and there are significant concerns here related to boosters, or if a venue decides they want their own rules on what counts as vaccinated, you will not be able to get that information from a pass.’’
That’s why the expiry date will be so important, and it’s understood the passes will be valid for six months from the moment someone gets their pass.
Will I also need ID?
Possibly. That will be down to each venue to decide if they want to cross-reference your vaccine pass and the name and date of birth on it, with an official ID such as a licence or passport.
Without asking for ID alongside the pass, the system could be open to fraud.
So how long will it take to enter a venue?
It will certainly take a little longer than it does now.
You will be expected to present your vaccine pass, possibly ID, and still sign in using the Covid Tracer app as you do now.
But to help speed up the process somewhat, there will be third party verifier apps that may combine the vaccine pass with an event ticket, for instance.
Chen said there will be third party apps for large scale events, which he said makes sense.
But there may also be special apps for places like universities.
‘‘Where they’re dealing with tens of thousands of people, it’s going to probably make sense for them to have an alternative way to manage vaccine passes,’’ Chen said.
‘‘It beats scanning them every time somebody wants to go into a lecture theatre.
‘‘And also for venues where people are repeat visitors, so a gym, for example. If you’re already swiping a membership card or something like that, maybe they can just store a vaccine record and say, yep, this person is vaccinated.’’
If they could be used at university, what about schools?
Staff will have to be vaccinated to work, so it’s likely there will be vaccine passes for adults working at schools.
But the technical specifications released by the Ministry of Health suggest the passes will be used only by people 16 and older.
Children up to the age of 15 will not be required to have a vaccine pass.
Chen said that could lead to some issues if a venue thinks someone is old enough to require a pass, but they don’t have ID.
But he said common sense will be crucial.
How long will we need them?
How long is a piece of string.
If New Zealand reached a 95 per cent vaccination rate, experts have suggested there would no longer be a need for vaccine passes. And, if treatments evolve and the pandemic eases, they will also no longer be required.
But that could take anywhere from six months to three or more years, depending on who you ask.
They’re likely to be required for some time.
Can I get a pass if I’ve recovered from Covid, but I’m not vaccinated?
Maybe. MATTR has built a system which offers three types of pass, but it’s unclear whether the Government wants to use all three versions.
There could be a vaccination pass, a Covid recovery pass – for people who have recovered from Covid but aren’t vaccinated – and a negative test pass – say for people who have returned a negative test in the past 72 hours.
Having those three options would follow in the footsteps of many overseas jurisdictions, which recognise someone who has had Covid poses little risk.
Stuff has asked the Ministry of Health whether it would allow recovery or negative test passes, but it didn’t respond.
How do our vaccine passes compare with other countries?
They stack up quite well.
Chen said while New Zealand is late to the vaccine pass party, it has meant the Government can learn from what works and what doesn’t.
MATTR has obviously planned for recovery passes or negative test passes.
But officials have also learnt where the privacy settings should sit.
In much of Europe, for instance, their vaccine certificates show which vaccine someone received and when, including plenty of personal information.
In parts of Australia, the pass shows only a person’s first name and date of birth, protecting privacy more than New Zealand’s pass will.
Chen said New Zealand has probably got the balance just right.
Will I be able to use my pass overseas?
Yes, you will. MATTR has developed the system, and the QR codes that will be in use, so they can be scanned by the EU verifier app.
It’s understood they’ll be usable in many other countries.
It’s important to note that a separate vaccine certificate is being developed for international travel, and it’s a genuine certificate with important vaccine information on it. That will also be required for anyone heading overseas in the foreseeable future.