Finland is preparing introduction of digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is currently preparing the introduction of a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate. The certificate would show that the person has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The certificate would be available in the My Kanta Pages service. In practice, data on COVID-19 vaccinations would be recorded in the My Kanta Pages where people could view their own vaccination data. The certificate could be digital vaccination data, a barcode, a QR code or a combination of these available in the My Kanta Pages and people could display the certificate on their phones or have it printed on paper.

Uniform vaccination data in the right form

Before the digital vaccination certificate can be introduced, it is first necessary to make sure that vaccination data is stored in the My Kanta Pages in a uniform and comprehensive manner and in the correct form. For this purpose, changes need to be made to a large number of the patient data systems currently in use or a separate application attached to the Kanta Services needs to be introduced to store vaccination data. The organisation-specific methods of implementation will be specified as the vaccination certificate project progresses.

Vaccination data has been entered in the My Kanta Pages in many different ways. The reason for this is that the patient and client data systems from where vaccination data is transferred to the My Kanta Pages vary between the municipalities, joint municipal boards and hospital districts.

At the moment, people who have received a vaccine against COVID-19 may ask for a separate certificate showing that they have been vaccinated. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a decree under which everyone could get a vaccination certificate via the My Kanta Pages either in electronic or paper format.

The aim is to introduce the certificate as soon as possible. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for the implementation and scheduling of the project. Finland is closely monitoring international solutions related to vaccination certificates. It will take account of such solutions in its own national project in order to make the Finnish certificate compatible with the international model.

Inquiries:

Minna Saario, Director, firstname.lastname@stmfi