Federal vaccine passport to be downloadable in BC by October 30

Oct 21 2021, 11:47 pm

British Columbians will be able to download the federal vaccine passport for international travel by the end of the month, the Ministry of Health tells Daily Hive.

Residents of the province can access the nationally standardized document for international travel from the same provincial portal they used to download the BC vaccine card, the Ministry confirmed Thursday afternoon.

It will be available by October 30 at the latest, which coincides with the day passengers on all domestic flights in Canada will need to prove they’re vaccinated.

Earlier on Thursday, Premier Justin Trudeau outlined plans for the federal vaccine passport, which his government promised to deliver months earlier.

Vaccine certificates from several provinces are already federally certified, but BC’s was not one of them.

vaccine passports

Government of Canada

“All other provinces have agreed, and are working hard to come online, so that as Canadians look to start travelling again, there will be a standardized proof of vaccination certificate,” Trudeau said.

The federal vaccine certificate says Canada in the top right corner and the province of issue in the top left. It contains more information than the BC vaccine card, such as the type of vaccine used and the date administered.

international COVID-19 vaccine passport

Proof of vaccination/Government of Canada

Premier John Horgan took questions from journalists on Thursday afternoon, and at the time, he didn’t know when the federal vaccine card would be available in BC.

“We’re going to clarify those issues in the days ahead,” he said.

The federal government has said provincial vaccine passports will be acceptable for travel in the interim until all provinces are able to grant national passes. The federal passports can also be used for international travel.

 

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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