Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem has revealed the government is working on a vaccine passport that will be internationally recognised.
The Maldives currently hands out COVID-19 vaccination cards and a digital vaccine passport for vaccinated individuals. However, travellers have expressed concern over some countries not accepting vaccination cards and digital passports.
Speaking to PSM News, Health Minister Naseem acknowledged the need for vaccine passports due to the high number of Maldivians who travel abroad. Minister Naseem noted that countries have different COVID-19 policies and travel restrictions and that some countries do not accept vaccine cards and digital passports from the Maldives. He said the government's work to formulate an internationally recognised vaccine passport is being conducted with involvement from numerous institutions and will take some time to complete.
Health Protection Agency (HPA) introduced a digital vaccine passport with an online portal that provides a single point for vaccinated individuals to view and digitally share their COVID-19 status. The information for the digital vaccine passports is added to the COVID-19 outbreak system managed by the HPA, which also contains information on PCR test results and quarantine history of individuals.
Some travellers have claimed that countries do not accept vaccination cards and digital vaccine passports due to a lack of representative symbols or signatures from the Government of the Maldives.