Turkey introduces vaccine ID card to its citizens

ISTANBUL

Turkey has activated a “vaccine ID card” through the Hayat Eve Sığar (HES) system, an online application keeping track of COVID-19 contacts, as vaccine passports are expected to be put into practice when traveling to European Union countries.

People who have their first and second doses of the coronavirus jab in Turkey will be able to create a vaccine ID card through the HES application of the Health Ministry, according to daily Milliyet.

Those who wish will be able to add their passport numbers to the application and their passport information will be included in the vaccine ID cards.

The vaccine ID cards will be used in international travels and the information regarding the vaccination status of a person will be accessed with the data on the passports when entering the country of travel.

The identity information of the person, the vaccine status, the name and the date the vaccine was applied, and the “safe tourism” logo that the Culture and Tourism Ministry put into practice last summer, will be included in the vaccine ID card.

There will be also a QR code on the vaccine ID card, which will direct the relevant authorities to e-Nabız [E-Pulse], a website which shows if people are eligible for the vaccine and handles the jab appointments.

When the authorities scan the QR code, information on the vaccine status of the ID holder will be available in both English and Turkish languages on the screen.

Meanwhile, Turkey and Hungary will recognize each other’s COVID-19 vaccine certificates for safe travel, Hungary’s foreign minister said on May 10.

The vaccine certificate will allow citizens to travel between Turkey and Hungary without a negative PCR test.

Turkey and Serbia are also planning to lift travel restrictions by recognizing each other’s COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

Turkey launched its inoculation drive on Jan. 14, and to date, more than 25.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

Nearly 14.7 million have received the first dose and over 10.6 million people have been administered both doses.