Over 40 million corona vaccination doses have already been administered in Germany – but the digital vaccination certificate is still a long time coming. This has advantages and disadvantages…
The vaccination campaign that is supposed to save Germany from the corona crisis is in full swing. So far, almost 10 million people nationwide have been completely immunized against Covid-19 and can therefore also enjoy certain privileges * – such as going to the hairdresser without having to do a quick test beforehand. But at one crucial point the Federal Republic is still extremely lagging behind, reports echo24.de *.
We are talking about the digital vaccination certificate. As a nationwide solution, it is still a long time coming. The so-called “CovPass” is due to be launched at the end of June, but until then there are still some problematic points to be clarified – including the question of security against counterfeiting.
Digital vaccination certificate in Germany: what is the real problem?
The great advantages of the digital corona vaccination certificate seem absolutely clear: Anyone who has a digital vaccination certificate no longer has to carry their paper ID with them – this means that the fragile document is more protected and can also be broken or lost less quickly. In addition, restaurant owners or hairdressers, for example, can easily check the immunization via QR code – contactless. Echo24.de * has summarized all the facts about the digital corona vaccination card * in detail in a separate article.
Ironically, the biggest problem is that so many Germans have already been vaccinated. Since the digital vaccination certificate for the corona vaccination does not yet exist, the immunization will continue to be documented in the yellow paper vaccination card. But this German vaccination pass is not forgery-proof – according to echo24.de *, there are now tons of fake vaccination cards in circulation.
But how can the federal government prevent the forgeries from being transferred from the yellow to the digital vaccination pass when it finally goes live? Ultimately, all previous Covid-19 vaccinations from medical practices, vaccination centers or pharmacies should then be transferred to the new digital EU vaccination card. Even Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) sees this as a problem.
Digital corona vaccination pass in Germany: A forgery-proof vaccination pass would be so easy
The hacker association “Chaos Computer Club” (CCC) believes that the responsibility for the security gap that has arisen clearly lies with the Ministry of Health. Compared to the Tagesspiegel , CCC spokesman Matthias Marx said that the entry in the yellow vaccination cards should have been better protected against counterfeiters right from the start.
That could have been solved better – with hologram stickers, for example, with embossed paper, with materials that not everyone can click together on Amazon.
Marx explained: “That could have been solved better – with hologram stickers, for example, with embossed paper, with materials that not everyone can click together on Amazon.” Because the German vaccination card was not designed to be forgery-proof before the pandemic – only now has it practically become a “ticket to freedom”. As an entry ticket for shopping, traveling, dining out or cultural events.
Digital corona vaccination pass in Germany: Some areas already have solutions
But while the federal government and the EU continue to fine-tune their digital vaccination card, digital vaccination cards are already available on an experimental basis in some areas of Germany. In Altötting in Bavaria, for example, people who have been vaccinated have been receiving a white plastic card with information about the vaccination, a photo and a QR code for some time and can thus enjoy freedom, in Ebersberg – also in Bavaria – there is even an app. And model projects are also running in Thuringia and Brandenburg.
Estonia is even a step further and, according to Tagesschau , started a pilot project with the World Health Organization in October. The system went live there at the end of April. For the German nationwide uniform solution of the digital vaccination pass, there is not yet an official start date.
For the Chaos Computer Club, neither the delay nor the security gaps in the digital vaccination certificate are a surprise. A spokesman told the Tagesschau that it was once again “typically German digital competence that you start to think about something like this where millions of people have already been vaccinated.” So it remains to be seen whether the digital vaccination certificate will actually be on time for the summer holidays is in use and how the federal government is closing the security gaps * echo24.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
