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Berlin, June 11 (IANS) After a two-week test phase, the new digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate "CovPass" was officially launched in Germany, Minister of Health Jens Spahn announced.

Implementing a program by the European Union (EU), the modifications of the certificate would make it possible to prove vaccinations, tests and previous COVID-19 illnesses when travelling in Europe, Xinhua news agency quoted Spahn as saying in a press briefing on Thursday.

"Step by step, vaccination centers, doctors' practices as well as pharmacies will now connect to the system in order to be able to issue European interoperable vaccination certificates," the Minister added.

However, not everyone could register their vaccination information on their mobile phone right away.

The goal was to have the application available to all interested in Germany by the end of June, according to Spahn.

The digital vaccination certificate could be used in Germany's official Covid-19 warning app or with the new CovPass app.

In addition to the digital certificate, the traditional yellow paper vaccination booklet would also remain valid, according to Spahn.

For those who have already received Covid-19 vaccination, the subsequent issuing of the vaccination certificate would also begin in the next days, according to Spahn.

"Before the summer holidays, there is a European solution to prove vaccinations digitally.

"Simply on the mobile phone, valid throughout Europe. With this, we as the EU are setting a cross-country standard that does not yet exist in the world," said Spahn

Almost 19.9 million people in Germany have been fully vaccinated till date, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 23.9 per cent, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

More than 39 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine across the country.

--IANS
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Update: 11-June-2021