New system to replace vax passes voluntary

Two new voluntary systems will be rolled out as the existing vaccine pass model is phased out.

By June 1, a new vaccine pass system will be unveiled and it will take into account booster doses.

Meanwhile, a new online personal vaccine journal will be established where people will likely be able to access flu, MMR and possibly other vaccine histories.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins revealed details of the new systems to the Herald.

Currently, My Vaccine Pass, My Vaccine Record, and international travel vaccination certificates can be used as proof of vaccination status.

The new vaccine pass system should be ready by the start of next month for people who still want to use vaccine-checking tools.

“People want to have a way to verify their vaccination status for a variety of reasons,” Hipkins said last night. “Certainly, vaccination is a big issue in the disability community.”

Hipkins said the new system could be useful for people who might want to verify vaccination status to a potential employer.

“They’re not going to be used in the foreseeable future in the way that they were previously, for hospitality and all those sorts of things.”

The new vaccine pass-type system will have to take into account whether people were eligible for three or four doses.

Hipkins said there were no plans to extend the vaccine passes to diseases other than Covid-19.

The new system’s expiry date was still to be decided.

All existing My Vaccine Passes expire six months from issue, or on June 1.

Anyone with a vaccine pass expiring before June 1 and wanting an extension will be able to request another one which will run to the end of June.

Hipkins said he expected there wouldn’t be many people in this group.

And Hipkins said the Government was also working on a self-service system where people could access flu, MMR, and other vaccine histories.

That new system should be available as more New Zealanders started planning overseas travel.

Some countries require multiple vaccinations. Hipkins said the second new system would be useful for people who wanted to quickly access vaccine histories.

Hipkins said he’d ask about what steps could be taken for people who wanted their data on the existing vaccine pass system to be removed.

“The Privacy Act continues to apply to all this information,” he said. “People will have control of their own data.”

Meanwhile, 6636 new community cases of Covid-19 and a further seven Covid-related deaths were reported yesterday.

There were 480 people in hospital with the virus, including 12 in intensive care.

A second person who travelled from overseas was confirmed as having the BA.4 variant of Omicron.