Stepanov: Domestic COVID-19 certificates to allow Ukrainians to travel without restrictions

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has assured that domestic COVID-19 certificates will allow Ukrainians to travel abroad without any restrictions.

He made the comment during a briefing on May 11.

Read alsoUkrainian COVID-19 vaccination certificate to be compatible with European one – PM"The Health Ministry's experts and team, together with those from the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, have developed the appropriate software that will allow obtaining such certificates online," he said.

Stepanov added that the certificates would contain all the needed information about vaccination, including the one that is expected to be required by the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the minister, this refers to the projected data since EU has not yet decided on the final list of information to be included in such documents.

At the same time, he says, the Health Ministry is holding consultations with the respective European agencies, and "we know what potential information may be contained there."

"Ukraine will have such certificates that will allow Ukrainians to travel without any restrictions," he assured.

Moreover, first certificates are planned to be issued before July 1, 2021.

Vaccination certificates in Ukraine: Background

• On March 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted the need to develop vaccine certificates, which will contain data on vaccinations against COVID-19.
• On the same day, Health Minister Stepanov said the pilot COVID-19 vaccine passport for Ukrainians was at its final stage of development.
• The European Union is developing a standard Digital Green Certificate to facilitate the safe free movement of citizens within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. The certificate is expected to have the following information: the name and surname of a person; date of birth; date of issue; information about vaccinations, negative test or recovery from COVID-19; and a unique document identifier.