🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa106)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html","crawl_time":1770824226,"first_indexed_time":1619454290,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Advertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\nA variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders.\nThe Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy.\nCredit...\nDutch Ministry of Health\nPublished April 26, 2021\nUpdated Aug. 4, 2021\nIt is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine.\nThe new platinum card of the Covid age is the\nvaccine certificate\n. It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist.\n“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.”\nRamesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an\neffort to develop a solution\nthat includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service.\nWe are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said.\nFiguring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials.\nImage\nPaper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India.\nCredit...\nAnil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño\/The New York Times\nAn Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper\nA Covid-19\nvaccination card\ndoes not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the\nhundreds of millions\nof people worldwide who got at least one shot of a\nCovid-19 vaccine\nin the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper.\nUnlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In\nSão Paulo, the cards have a green border\n. In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out.\nIn India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish.\nIn some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people\na range of goods\n: free popcorn and\nice cream\n, and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to\npost selfies\nor to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts.\nDenmark\nImage\nA template of Denmark’s vaccine passport.\nCredit...\nDenmark Ministry of Health\nName:\nCoronapas (Corona Passport)\nCould it get you an indoor table?\nYes.\nIn Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said.\nHow about a concert or sports game?\nThat, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders.\nAnything else?\nOn April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the\napp or site\nin its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated.\nHow do you get one?\nYou have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket.\nIsn’t the European Union also developing a system?\nYes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a\nDigital Green Pass\n, with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions.\nTimes travel coverage.\n \nWhen our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect.\nIsrael\nImage\nIsrael’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip.\nCredit...\nIsabel Kershner\nName of card:\nThe Green Pass\nCould it get you an indoor table?\nYes.\nHow about entry to a concert or sports game?\nThat, too.\nAnything else?\nThe pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural\nevents\n, such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass\nmay also mean that you may not have to quarantine\nfor 10 to 14 days after international travel.\nHow does it work?\nIn late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses\nbegan to ask\n, “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a\nQR code\n, download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself.\nWhat’s with that family?\nThe app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are\nwearing masks\n, but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases.\nAparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.”\nAre there concerns about requiring it so widely?\nAbsolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns.\nEstonia\nImage\nA template of Estonia’s vaccine app.\nCredit...\nGuardtime\nName of card:\nVaccineGuard\nCould it get you an indoor table?\nNot yet.\nHow about entry to a concert or sports game?\nNot that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet.\nSo what is it good for?\nAs of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry.\nIs that really such a high-demand journey?\nYes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism.\nHow does it work?\nEstonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code.\nNew York\nImage\nA template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccine\nCredit...\nNew York State\nName:\nExcelsior Pass\nCould it get you an indoor table?\nYes.\nHow about entry to a concert or sports game?\nThat, too.\nAnything else?\nThe state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it.\nHow does it work?\nNew York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said.\nWho scans green?\nA person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification.\nWill there ever be a national app for the U.S.?\nNo. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce.\nWhat differentiates Excelsior visually?\nIt is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned.\nIsabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro.\nA correction was made on\nApril 28, 2021\n: \nBecause of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested.\nHeather Murphy\nis a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology.\nA version of this article appears in print on\nMay 2, 2021\n, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination\n.\nOrder Reprints\n|\nToday’s Paper\n|\nSubscribe\nRelated Content\nMore in Travel\nNobu Hotel Barcelona\nKenny Holston\/The New York Times\nAlexi Rosenfeld\/Getty Images\nEditors’ Picks\nRobert Samuel Hanson\nAlice Zoo for The New York Times\nTrending in The Times\nTrent Ernst\/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images\nNicolas Ortega\nAdam Hunger\/Associated Press\nStanislaw Tokarski\/Alamy\nLauren DeCicca for The New York Times\nAndrew Faulk for The New York Times\nMelissa Shelby\nPeter van Agtmael for The New York Times\nNatasha Campos\/Getty Images For Mark Markiplier\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n\nSearch\n\n[Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/travel)\n\n[Log in](https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2021%252F04%252F26%252Ftravel%252Fvaccine-passport-cards-apps.html&asset=masthead)\n\nWednesday, February 11, 2026\n\n[Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper)\n\n[Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/travel)\\|A Look at Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe\n\nhttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html\n\n- Share full article\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-top)\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-sponsor)\n# A Look at Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe\nA variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders.\n\n- Share full article\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/25\/multimedia\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy. Credit...Dutch Ministry of Health\n\nBy [Heather Murphy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/heather-murphy)\n\nPublished April 26, 2021Updated Aug. 4, 2021\n\nIt is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine.\n\nThe new platinum card of the Covid age is the [vaccine certificate](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/04\/nyregion\/nyc-vaccine-pass-answers.html). It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist.\n\n“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.”\n\nThe Latest on Vaccines and European Travel:\n\n[![]()E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer April 25, 2021](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/25\/world\/europe\/american-travel-to-europe.html)\n\nRamesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an [effort to develop a solution](https:\/\/pathcheck.org\/) that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service.\n\nWe are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said.\n\nFiguring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials.\n\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/04\/22\/us\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nPaper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India.Credit...Anil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño\/The New York Times\n\n## An Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper\nA Covid-19 [vaccination card](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/vaccine-covid-card.html) does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the [hundreds of millions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2021\/world\/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html) of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a [Covid-19 vaccine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/14\/health\/vaccine-requirement-business-perks.html) in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper.\n\nUnlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In [São Paulo, the cards have a green border](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/S%C3%A3o_Paulo). In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out.\n\nIn India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish.\n\n## More on the Virus\n- **Is It Cold, Flu or Covid?:** With similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell which illness is which. [Here’s what to know](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/25\/well\/cold-flu-covid-symptoms.html).\n- **Heart Problems:** One study found that a Covid infection [doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/22\/well\/covid-heart-health.html). And the risk of a heart attack [triples within the first few weeks](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/29\/well\/viral-infections-covid-flu-heart-attacks.html) after an infection, another suggested.\n- **Long Covid in Children:** People under 21 [are](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/30\/health\/long-covid-children.html) [twice as likely to develop long-term health consequences](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/30\/health\/long-covid-children.html) after a second coronavirus infection, a large study found.\n- **Covid Shots****:** The F.D.A. [approved updated Covid vaccines](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/27\/health\/fda-covid-vaccines-rfk-jr.html) and limited who can get the shots. Children [under 12 need different versions of the vaccines](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/07\/well\/covid-vaccine-children-parents-issues-rfk-jr.html), but many pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices aren’t stocking them. [Here's what to know](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/27\/well\/covid-vaccines-guidelines-fall-2025.html).\n- **Gut Issues:** Why does Covid cause [diarrhea, constipation, pain and bloating? Here are some suggestions for](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/12\/well\/eat\/covid-symptoms-diarrhea-constipation-pain-bloating.html) what to do about these conditions.\n\nIn some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people [a range of goods](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/24\/business\/covid-19-vaccine-krispy-kreme-donuts.html): free popcorn and [ice cream](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/06\/world\/asia\/china-vaccination-drive.html), and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to [post selfies](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/01\/style\/vaccine-selfies.html) or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts.\n\n## Denmark\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/23\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-denmark\/00xp-vaccine-proof-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of Denmark’s vaccine passport.Credit...Denmark Ministry of Health\n\n**Name:** Coronapas (Corona Passport)\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said.\n\n**How about a concert or sports game?** That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders.\n\n## Editors’ Picks\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/10\/multimedia\/10cul-projetionist-luncheon-01-zpwf\/10cul-projetionist-luncheon-01-zpwf-thumbLarge.jpg)Where A-Listers and Newcomers Shine Equally](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/11\/movies\/oscar-nominees-lunch-timothee-chalamet-jacob-elordi-teyana-taylor.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/arts\/cul-valentines-day-movies-love-hate\/cul-valentines-day-movies-love-hate-thumbLarge.jpg)Love or Hate Valentine’s Day? Either Way, There Are Movies for You.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/02\/09\/movies\/valentines-day-movies-streaming-love-hate.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/multimedia\/09re-location-odonnell-05-gqwh\/09re-location-odonnell-05-gqwh-thumbLarge.jpg)A Designer Moves Upstairs — and Starts Over](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/09\/realestate\/greenwich-village-condo-kyle-odonnell.html)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-pp_edpick)\n\n**Anything else?** On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the [app or site](https:\/\/www.sundhed.dk\/) in its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated.\n\n**How do you get one?** You have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket.\n\n**Isn’t the European Union also developing a system?** Yes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a [Digital Green Pass](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/01\/world\/eu-vaccine-passport.html), with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions.\n\nTimes travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect.\n\n[Here’s more on our standards and practices.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/editorial-standards\/ethical-journalism.html#rulesForSpecializedDepartments)\n## Israel\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/19\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-israel\/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nIsrael’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip.Credit...Isabel Kershner\n\n**Name of card:** The Green Pass\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** That, too.\n\n**Anything else?** The pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural [events](https:\/\/corona.health.gov.il\/en\/directives\/green-pass-info\/), such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass [may also mean that you may not have to quarantine](https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2777686) for 10 to 14 days after international travel.\n\n**How does it work?** In late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses [began to ask](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/07\/world\/israel-green-pass-covid.html), “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a [QR code](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/26\/technology\/qr-codes-tracking.html), download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself.\n\n**What’s with that family?** The app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are [wearing masks](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/27\/science\/face-mask-guidelines-timeline.html), but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases.\n\nAparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.”\n\n**Are there concerns about requiring it so widely?** Absolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns.\n\n## Estonia\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/19\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of Estonia’s vaccine app.Credit...Guardtime\n\n**Name of card:** VaccineGuard\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Not yet.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** Not that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet.\n\n**So what is it good for?** As of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry.\n\n**Is that really such a high-demand journey?** Yes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism.\n\n**How does it work?** Estonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code.\n\n## New York\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/23\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-newyork\/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccineCredit...New York State\n\n**Name:** [Excelsior Pass](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/01\/nyregion\/new-york-vaccine-passport.html)\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** That, too.\n\n**Anything else?** The state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it.\n\n**How does it work?** New York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said.\n\n**Who scans green?** A person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification.\n\n**Will there ever be a national app for the U.S.?** No. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce.\n\n**What differentiates Excelsior visually?** It is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned.\n\nIsabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro.\n\nMore about Vaccine Certificates and Passports\n\n[![]()What Are the Roadblocks to a ‘Vaccine Passport’?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/vaccine-passport.html)\n\n[![]()Vaccine Passports: What Are They, and Who Might Need One? April 9, 2021](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/09\/world\/europe\/virus-vaccine-passport.html)\n\n[![]()Vaccine Passports Could Unlock World Travel and Cries of Discrimination April 9, 2021](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/09\/world\/europe\/vaccine-passports-virus-issues-legal-ethical.html)\n\n**A correction was made on**\n\nApril 28, 2021\n\n:\n\nBecause of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested.\n\n***\nWhen we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at [corrections@nytimes.com](mailto:corrections@nytimes.com).[Learn more](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/explain\/2022\/new-york-times-journalism)\n\n[Heather Murphy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/heather-murphy) is a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2021, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\nSee more on: [New York](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/nyregion)\n\n- Share full article\n\n## Related Content\n### [More in Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/travel)\n- [Champagne, Concierges and Emergency Sand: How the Ultra-Rich Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/11\/travel\/luxury-travel-agency-advisers-wealth.html)\n  \n  ![At the Nobu Barcelona hotel, guests fill in pre-stay questionnaires listing their requirements. 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Now It Is Piling Up.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/10\/world\/asia\/durian-malaysia-china-demand.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/01\/29\/multimedia\/00int-malaysia-durian-promo\/00int-malaysia-durian-01-wmzp-square640-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Lauren DeCicca for The New York Times\n- [After Years Working on Watch Repairs, He Made His Own](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/11\/fashion\/watches-alan-birchall-japan.html)\n  \n  ![Alan Birchall, the watchmaker and former watch repairer, designed Pièce d’Essai No. 00 to his own taste. “I wasn’t thinking about trends, or what people expect,” he said. “I just thought, what is the perfect watch for me?”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/12\/multimedia\/12sp-watches-birchall-inyt-01-kbjg\/12sp-watches-birchall-inyt-01-kbjg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Andrew Faulk for The New York Times\n- [The Latest Victim of a Snowless West: Dog Sledding](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/09\/travel\/sled-dog-races-canceled-western-united-states.html)\n  \n  ![The Warm Lake Stage Race, a 52-mile event, is the only part of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge that has not been canceled the last three years. 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Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-Sale)\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Canada](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ca\/)\n- [International](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/international\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Advertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-top)\n\nA variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders.\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/25\/multimedia\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy. Credit...Dutch Ministry of Health\n\nPublished April 26, 2021Updated Aug. 4, 2021\n\nIt is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine.\n\nThe new platinum card of the Covid age is the [vaccine certificate](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/04\/nyregion\/nyc-vaccine-pass-answers.html). It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist.\n\n“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.”\n\nRamesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an [effort to develop a solution](https:\/\/pathcheck.org\/) that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service.\n\nWe are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said.\n\nFiguring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials.\n\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/04\/22\/us\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO\/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nPaper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India.Credit...Anil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño\/The New York Times\n\n## An Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper\nA Covid-19 [vaccination card](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/vaccine-covid-card.html) does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the [hundreds of millions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2021\/world\/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html) of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a [Covid-19 vaccine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/14\/health\/vaccine-requirement-business-perks.html) in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper.\n\nUnlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In [São Paulo, the cards have a green border](https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/S%C3%A3o_Paulo). In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out.\n\nIn India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish.\n\nIn some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people [a range of goods](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/24\/business\/covid-19-vaccine-krispy-kreme-donuts.html): free popcorn and [ice cream](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/06\/world\/asia\/china-vaccination-drive.html), and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to [post selfies](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/01\/style\/vaccine-selfies.html) or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts.\n\n## Denmark\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/23\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-denmark\/00xp-vaccine-proof-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of Denmark’s vaccine passport.Credit...Denmark Ministry of Health\n\n**Name:** Coronapas (Corona Passport)\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said.\n\n**How about a concert or sports game?** That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders.\n\n**Anything else?** On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the [app or site](https:\/\/www.sundhed.dk\/) in its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated.\n\n**How do you get one?** You have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket.\n\n**Isn’t the European Union also developing a system?** Yes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a [Digital Green Pass](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/01\/world\/eu-vaccine-passport.html), with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions.\n\nTimes travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect.\n\n## Israel\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/19\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-israel\/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nIsrael’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip.Credit...Isabel Kershner\n\n**Name of card:** The Green Pass\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** That, too.\n\n**Anything else?** The pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural [events](https:\/\/corona.health.gov.il\/en\/directives\/green-pass-info\/), such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass [may also mean that you may not have to quarantine](https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2777686) for 10 to 14 days after international travel.\n\n**How does it work?** In late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses [began to ask](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/07\/world\/israel-green-pass-covid.html), “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a [QR code](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/26\/technology\/qr-codes-tracking.html), download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself.\n\n**What’s with that family?** The app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are [wearing masks](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/27\/science\/face-mask-guidelines-timeline.html), but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases.\n\nAparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.”\n\n**Are there concerns about requiring it so widely?** Absolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns.\n\n## Estonia\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/19\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of Estonia’s vaccine app.Credit...Guardtime\n\n**Name of card:** VaccineGuard\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Not yet.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** Not that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet.\n\n**So what is it good for?** As of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry.\n\n**Is that really such a high-demand journey?** Yes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism.\n\n**How does it work?** Estonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code.\n\n## New York\nImage\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2021\/04\/23\/multimedia\/00xp-vaccine-proof-newyork\/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccineCredit...New York State\n\n**Name:** [Excelsior Pass](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/01\/nyregion\/new-york-vaccine-passport.html)\n\n**Could it get you an indoor table?** Yes.\n\n**How about entry to a concert or sports game?** That, too.\n\n**Anything else?** The state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it.\n\n**How does it work?** New York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said.\n\n**Who scans green?** A person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification.\n\n**Will there ever be a national app for the U.S.?** No. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce.\n\n**What differentiates Excelsior visually?** It is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned.\n\nIsabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro.\n\n**A correction was made on**\n\nApril 28, 2021\n\n:\n\nBecause of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested.\n\n[Heather Murphy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/heather-murphy) is a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2021, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\n## Related Content\n[More in Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/travel)\n\n- ![At the Nobu Barcelona hotel, guests fill in pre-stay questionnaires listing their requirements. Some rooms feature baths with views of the Sagrada Familia Basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/multimedia\/11Trav-luxury-zcwh\/11Trav-luxury-zcwh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Nobu Hotel Barcelona\n- ![American Airlines had lost substantial ground to Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in recent years.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/multimedia\/09biz-american-airlines-clzk\/09biz-american-airlines-clzk-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Kenny Holston\/The New York Times\n- ![Andrew Nakihei, of the HI Surf Club in the Maui town of Lahaina, takes his daughter out for a surfing lesson.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/03\/multimedia\/00trav-maui-recovery-06-hlfq\/00trav-maui-recovery-06-hlfq-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n- ![Harry Styles fans outside Madison Square Garden during the singer’s performances there in 2022.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/multimedia\/00trav-harry-styles-fans-01-pvzj\/00trav-harry-styles-fans-01-pvzj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Alexi Rosenfeld\/Getty Images\n\nEditors’ Picks\n\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/crosswords\/09word-revival-art\/09word-revival-art-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Robert Samuel Hanson\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/multimedia\/09FD-VALENTINE-BAKING-promo-fpzw\/09FD-VALENTINE-BAKING-promo-fpzw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Alice Zoo for The New York Times\n\nTrending in The Times\n\n- ![A screenshot from a video showing the school building where a shooting took place in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Tuesday.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/multimedia\/11int-canada-shooting-wpql\/11int-canada-shooting-wpql-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Trent Ernst\/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images\n- ![Unlock better sleep.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/realestate\/11re-sleeping-with-other-people-ILLO\/11re-sleeping-with-other-people-ILLO-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Nicolas Ortega\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/smarter-living\/wirecutter\/THUMB_260123_WC_WILI_DISHDETERGENT_WL_V6\/THUMB_260123_WC_WILI_DISHDETERGENT_WL_V6-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/multimedia\/09diaz-gtjk\/09diaz-gtjk-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Adam Hunger\/Associated Press\n- ![A replica of the Luna 9 lander in the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/multimedia\/00HS-sci-luna-9-02-lhgb\/00HS-sci-luna-9-02-lhgb-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Stanislaw Tokarski\/Alamy\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/01\/29\/multimedia\/00int-malaysia-durian-promo\/00int-malaysia-durian-01-wmzp-square640-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Lauren DeCicca for The New York Times\n- ![Alan Birchall, the watchmaker and former watch repairer, designed Pièce d’Essai No. 00 to his own taste. “I wasn’t thinking about trends, or what people expect,” he said. “I just thought, what is the perfect watch for me?”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/12\/multimedia\/12sp-watches-birchall-inyt-01-kbjg\/12sp-watches-birchall-inyt-01-kbjg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Andrew Faulk for The New York Times\n- ![The Warm Lake Stage Race, a 52-mile event, is the only part of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge that has not been canceled the last three years. Above, a scene from last year’s race.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/09\/multimedia\/09trav-dog-sledding-bzgq\/09trav-dog-sledding-bzgq-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Melissa Shelby\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/11\/multimedia\/11beha-tckh\/11beha-tckh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Peter van Agtmael for The New York Times\n- ![Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, directed and funded “Iron Lung” himself.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/10\/multimedia\/09cul-youtube-movie-2-vbcj\/09cul-youtube-movie-2-vbcj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Natasha Campos\/Getty Images For Mark Markiplier\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/26\/travel\/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-bottom)","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe - The New York Times
Meta Description	A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders.
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Boilerpipe Text	Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders. The Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy. Credit... Dutch Ministry of Health Published April 26, 2021 Updated Aug. 4, 2021 It is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine. The new platinum card of the Covid age is the vaccine certificate . It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.” Ramesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an effort to develop a solution that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service. We are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said. Figuring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials. Image Paper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India. Credit... Anil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño/The New York Times An Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper A Covid-19 vaccination card does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper. Unlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In São Paulo, the cards have a green border . In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out. In India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish. In some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people a range of goods : free popcorn and ice cream , and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to post selfies or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts. Denmark Image A template of Denmark’s vaccine passport. Credit... Denmark Ministry of Health Name: Coronapas (Corona Passport) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said. How about a concert or sports game? That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders. Anything else? On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the app or site in its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated. How do you get one? You have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket. Isn’t the European Union also developing a system? Yes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a Digital Green Pass , with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions. Times travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect. Israel Image Israel’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip. Credit... Isabel Kershner Name of card: The Green Pass Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural events , such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass may also mean that you may not have to quarantine for 10 to 14 days after international travel. How does it work? In late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses began to ask , “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a QR code , download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself. What’s with that family? The app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are wearing masks , but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases. Aparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.” Are there concerns about requiring it so widely? Absolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns. Estonia Image A template of Estonia’s vaccine app. Credit... Guardtime Name of card: VaccineGuard Could it get you an indoor table? Not yet. How about entry to a concert or sports game? Not that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet. So what is it good for? As of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry. Is that really such a high-demand journey? Yes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism. How does it work? Estonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code. New York Image A template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccine Credit... New York State Name: Excelsior Pass Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it. How does it work? New York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said. Who scans green? A person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification. Will there ever be a national app for the U.S.? No. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce. What differentiates Excelsior visually? It is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned. Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro. A correction was made on April 28, 2021 : Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested. Heather Murphy is a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology. A version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2021 , Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination . 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Markdown	[Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation Search [Travel](https://www.nytimes.com/section/travel) [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2021%252F04%252F26%252Ftravel%252Fvaccine-passport-cards-apps.html&asset=masthead) Wednesday, February 11, 2026 [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) [Travel](https://www.nytimes.com/section/travel)\\|A Look at Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html - Share full article Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-top) Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-sponsor) # A Look at Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Passports,’ Passes and Apps Around the Globe A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders. - Share full article ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/25/multimedia/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy. Credit...Dutch Ministry of Health By [Heather Murphy](https://www.nytimes.com/by/heather-murphy) Published April 26, 2021Updated Aug. 4, 2021 It is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine. The new platinum card of the Covid age is the [vaccine certificate](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/nyregion/nyc-vaccine-pass-answers.html). It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.” The Latest on Vaccines and European Travel: [![]()E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer April 25, 2021](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/world/europe/american-travel-to-europe.html) Ramesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an [effort to develop a solution](https://pathcheck.org/) that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service. We are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said. Figuring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials. Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/04/22/us/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Paper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India.Credit...Anil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño/The New York Times ## An Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper A Covid-19 [vaccination card](https://www.nytimes.com/article/vaccine-covid-card.html) does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the [hundreds of millions](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html) of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a [Covid-19 vaccine](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/health/vaccine-requirement-business-perks.html) in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper. Unlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In [São Paulo, the cards have a green border](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo). In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out. In India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish. ## More on the Virus - Is It Cold, Flu or Covid?: With similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell which illness is which. [Here’s what to know](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/well/cold-flu-covid-symptoms.html). - Heart Problems: One study found that a Covid infection [doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/well/covid-heart-health.html). And the risk of a heart attack [triples within the first few weeks](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/well/viral-infections-covid-flu-heart-attacks.html) after an infection, another suggested. - Long Covid in Children: People under 21 [are](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/health/long-covid-children.html) [twice as likely to develop long-term health consequences](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/health/long-covid-children.html) after a second coronavirus infection, a large study found. - Covid Shots: The F.D.A. [approved updated Covid vaccines](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/health/fda-covid-vaccines-rfk-jr.html) and limited who can get the shots. Children [under 12 need different versions of the vaccines](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/well/covid-vaccine-children-parents-issues-rfk-jr.html), but many pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices aren’t stocking them. [Here's what to know](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/well/covid-vaccines-guidelines-fall-2025.html). - Gut Issues: Why does Covid cause [diarrhea, constipation, pain and bloating? Here are some suggestions for](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/well/eat/covid-symptoms-diarrhea-constipation-pain-bloating.html) what to do about these conditions. In some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people [a range of goods](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/business/covid-19-vaccine-krispy-kreme-donuts.html): free popcorn and [ice cream](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/asia/china-vaccination-drive.html), and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to [post selfies](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/style/vaccine-selfies.html) or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts. ## Denmark Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/23/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-denmark/00xp-vaccine-proof-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of Denmark’s vaccine passport.Credit...Denmark Ministry of Health Name: Coronapas (Corona Passport) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes.In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said. How about a concert or sports game? That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders. ## Editors’ Picks [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/10/multimedia/10cul-projetionist-luncheon-01-zpwf/10cul-projetionist-luncheon-01-zpwf-thumbLarge.jpg)Where A-Listers and Newcomers Shine Equally](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/movies/oscar-nominees-lunch-timothee-chalamet-jacob-elordi-teyana-taylor.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/09/arts/cul-valentines-day-movies-love-hate/cul-valentines-day-movies-love-hate-thumbLarge.jpg)Love or Hate Valentine’s Day? Either Way, There Are Movies for You.](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/09/movies/valentines-day-movies-streaming-love-hate.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/09/multimedia/09re-location-odonnell-05-gqwh/09re-location-odonnell-05-gqwh-thumbLarge.jpg)A Designer Moves Upstairs — and Starts Over](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/realestate/greenwich-village-condo-kyle-odonnell.html) Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-pp_edpick) Anything else? On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the [app or site](https://www.sundhed.dk/) in its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated. How do you get one? You have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket. Isn’t the European Union also developing a system? Yes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a [Digital Green Pass](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/world/eu-vaccine-passport.html), with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions. Times travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect. [Here’s more on our standards and practices.](https://www.nytimes.com/editorial-standards/ethical-journalism.html#rulesForSpecializedDepartments) ## Israel Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/19/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-israel/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Israel’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip.Credit...Isabel Kershner Name of card: The Green Pass Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural [events](https://corona.health.gov.il/en/directives/green-pass-info/), such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass [may also mean that you may not have to quarantine](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777686) for 10 to 14 days after international travel. How does it work? In late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses [began to ask](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/israel-green-pass-covid.html), “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a [QR code](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/technology/qr-codes-tracking.html), download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself. What’s with that family? The app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are [wearing masks](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/science/face-mask-guidelines-timeline.html), but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases. Aparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.” Are there concerns about requiring it so widely? Absolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns. ## Estonia Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/19/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of Estonia’s vaccine app.Credit...Guardtime Name of card: VaccineGuard Could it get you an indoor table? Not yet. How about entry to a concert or sports game? Not that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet. So what is it good for? As of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry. Is that really such a high-demand journey? Yes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism. How does it work? Estonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code. ## New York Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/23/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-newyork/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccineCredit...New York State Name: [Excelsior Pass](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/nyregion/new-york-vaccine-passport.html) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it. How does it work? New York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said. Who scans green? A person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification. Will there ever be a national app for the U.S.? No. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce. What differentiates Excelsior visually? It is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned. Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro. More about Vaccine Certificates and Passports [![]()What Are the Roadblocks to a ‘Vaccine Passport’?](https://www.nytimes.com/article/vaccine-passport.html) [![]()Vaccine Passports: What Are They, and Who Might Need One? April 9, 2021](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/world/europe/virus-vaccine-passport.html) [![]()Vaccine Passports Could Unlock World Travel and Cries of Discrimination April 9, 2021](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/world/europe/vaccine-passports-virus-issues-legal-ethical.html) A correction was made on April 28, 2021 : Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested. *** When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at [corrections@nytimes.com](mailto:corrections@nytimes.com).[Learn more](https://www.nytimes.com/explain/2022/new-york-times-journalism) [Heather Murphy](https://www.nytimes.com/by/heather-murphy) is a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology. A version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2021, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination. 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Readable Markdown	Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/travel/vaccine-passport-cards-apps.html#after-top) A variety of digital and old-fashioned approaches are being used to confirm vaccination for entry to public places. But the world is still far from a universal standard of proof for crossing borders. ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/25/multimedia/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Dutch app, which is in development, will never show a bouncer why a person produced a green tick mark or a red “bar code cannot be read” to try to protect customer privacy. Credit...Dutch Ministry of Health Published April 26, 2021Updated Aug. 4, 2021 It is the latest status symbol. Flash it at the people, and you can get access to concerts, sports arenas or long-forbidden restaurant tables. Some day, it may even help you cross a border without having to quarantine. The new platinum card of the Covid age is the [vaccine certificate](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/nyregion/nyc-vaccine-pass-answers.html). It is a document that has existed for more than two centuries, but it has rarely promised to hold so much power over culture and commerce. Many versions of these certificates now come with a digital twist. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pandemic that has impacted every facet of society so thoroughly, and then a vaccine,” said Carmel Shachar, the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. “There is no precedent since 1918, and we definitely didn’t have smartphones in 1918.” Ramesh Raskar, a professor at M.I.T. Media Lab, has been leading an [effort to develop a solution](https://pathcheck.org/) that includes both a paper certificate that anyone can easily carry as well as a free digital pass that works even without cell service. We are going to emerge from the pandemic with a new “currency for health,” he said. Figuring out how these passes should be used and what they should look like is dividing lawmakers, business leaders, ethicists, designers and health officials. Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/04/22/us/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO/00XP-VACCINE-PROOF-COMBO-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Paper certificates from Shanghai, São Paulo and Uttar Pradesh, India.Credit...Anil Kumar Shukla and Ernesto Londoño/The New York Times ## An Easy Pass Made of Flimsy Paper A Covid-19 [vaccination card](https://www.nytimes.com/article/vaccine-covid-card.html) does not always convey the significance of the document. Nor are the cards typically designed to counter fraud. Most of the [hundreds of millions](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html) of people worldwide who got at least one shot of a [Covid-19 vaccine](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/health/vaccine-requirement-business-perks.html) in the past few months received a flimsy piece of paper. Unlike the easily recognizable “yellow card” that international travelers have long used to document other kinds of immunizations, the designs for Covid-19 vaccination certificates vary from state to state and country to country. In [São Paulo, the cards have a green border](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo). In Shanghai, they are stamped in red. In parts of Mexico and Lebanon, they are the size of passports, with the handwriting of the person who filled it out. In India, the certificate is a fully typed printed page. Next to the pronouncement that reads “Together, India will defeat Covid-19” is a photo of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, a rare flourish. In some parts of the world, vaccine proof has gotten people [a range of goods](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/business/covid-19-vaccine-krispy-kreme-donuts.html): free popcorn and [ice cream](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/asia/china-vaccination-drive.html), and even discounted beers. But for the most part, they have just allowed people to [post selfies](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/style/vaccine-selfies.html) or to reassure their acquaintance. Some governments are looking for more formal systems that work on phones and counter fraud. Here is a look at some early efforts. ## Denmark Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/23/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-denmark/00xp-vaccine-proof-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of Denmark’s vaccine passport.Credit...Denmark Ministry of Health Name: Coronapas (Corona Passport) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes.In Denmark, restaurants have been open for just takeout since December and have reopened this month with the caveat that only those with a Coronapas can sit indoors, the ministry of health said. How about a concert or sports game? That, too. As part of the country’s reopening plans, the government sanctioned indoor seating for sports and other stadium events for pass holders. Anything else? On April 6, hair salons, tattoo businesses, massage parlors and driving schools opened exclusively to customers with Coronapas. The Danish government does not track each time the pass is used, the ministry said, but about 3.5 million people had visited the [app or site](https://www.sundhed.dk/) in its first week. The app is also intended to be a way for travelers to show other countries that they have been vaccinated. How do you get one? You have to be fully vaccinated, or tested negative for the coronavirus within the past 72 hours or recovered from an infection within the past 180 days. Danish citizens can download the app on their smartphone or visit a website to print the Coronapas, which exudes the somber vibe of an old-school train ticket. Isn’t the European Union also developing a system? Yes. On June 21, the E.U. is expected to introduce a certificate called a [Digital Green Pass](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/world/eu-vaccine-passport.html), with the aim of allowing people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel more freely. Under the proposed rules, each nation within the bloc could decide which travel restrictions, such as obligatory quarantine, to waive for Digital Green holders. But many countries, including Denmark, say they cannot afford to wait for the Digital Green Pass and are developing their own versions. Times travel coverage. When our writers review a destination, they do not accept free or discounted services or, in most cases, reveal that they work for The Times. We want their experience to be what you can expect. ## Israel Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/19/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-israel/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Israel’s Green Pass app features a gif of a family headed on a trip.Credit...Isabel Kershner Name of card: The Green Pass Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The pass allows you to enter many businesses, including swimming pools, gyms, theaters and wedding halls, as well as cultural [events](https://corona.health.gov.il/en/directives/green-pass-info/), such as concerts, sports games and religious gatherings. Having the pass [may also mean that you may not have to quarantine](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2777686) for 10 to 14 days after international travel. How does it work? In late February, Israel’s ministry of health began offering the Green Pass to fully vaccinated residents and individuals who have recovered from Covid-19. When booking a table at a restaurant, many of the businesses [began to ask](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/world/israel-green-pass-covid.html), “Do you have a Green Pass?” Israelis can print their certificates containing a [QR code](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/technology/qr-codes-tracking.html), download the code onto their phones or flash the app itself. What’s with that family? The app and other Green Pass materials feature an animated illustration of a family of three. The man is wearing shorts, a backpack and a camera around his neck, suggesting he’s on vacation. His son and wife are [wearing masks](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/science/face-mask-guidelines-timeline.html), but their postures are relaxed as they pull their suitcases. Aparna Nair, a professor of science history at the University of Oklahoma who maintains a collection of vaccination certificates going back to the 1820s, said that this detail was noteworthy: “They are using the design of the vaccine passport to form visual connections with life after the pandemic, essentially, the vaccine as a literal passport to the rest of the world.” Are there concerns about requiring it so widely? Absolutely. Seema Mohapatra, a law professor specializing in health care and bioethics, noted that many people in the West Bank and Gaza strip had not been vaccinated, raising equity concerns. ## Estonia Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/19/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia/00xp-vaccine-proof-estonia-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of Estonia’s vaccine app.Credit...Guardtime Name of card: VaccineGuard Could it get you an indoor table? Not yet. How about entry to a concert or sports game? Not that either. Some business owners and cultural event organizers have expressed the hope that the Estonian government will waive capacity limitations and other restrictions if they agree to check for the certificate at the door, said Dr. Ain Aaviksoo, the chief medical officer at Guardtime, the company that worked with the Estonian government and the W.H.O. to design the certificate. But this hasn’t happened yet. So what is it good for? As of April 30, it will be most useful for going to and from Finland on the ferry. Is that really such a high-demand journey? Yes. About 10 percent of the Estonian working population is employed in Finland, Dr. Aaviksoo said. For years, it has been common for Estonians to stay in Helsinki during the week and then take the two-hour ferry ride home to Tallinn for the weekend. That has not been possible during the pandemic. Finland also fuels Estonia’s summer tourism. How does it work? Estonia says it cannot afford to wait for the E.U.’s Digital Green Pass. Starting April 30, residents can download a vaccination certificate, containing a QR code. ## New York Image ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/23/multimedia/00xp-vaccine-proof-newyork/00xp-vaccine-proof-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A template of New York State’s Excelsior Pass which shows proof of vaccineCredit...New York State Name: [Excelsior Pass](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/nyregion/new-york-vaccine-passport.html) Could it get you an indoor table? Yes. How about entry to a concert or sports game? That, too. Anything else? The state has been requiring some government employees to use it. It’s up to businesses and private organizations to decide whether they want to require the pass for entry. So far, the system has been used at restaurants, weddings, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium, according to Eric Piscini, vice president of Emerging Business Networks at IBM Watson Health, which designed it. How does it work? New York began offering downloads of the app in March. It verifies whether someone is fully vaccinated or has recently tested negative. Around 400,000 people throughout the state have downloaded it so far, Mr. Piscini said. The pass generates a QR code that can be scanned to produce a green checkmark or a red X. Those without compatible phones can print out their codes, he said. Who scans green? A person could obtain green not only by being fully vaccinated more than 14 days ago, but also by getting a negative PCR test within three days or a negative antigen test — often referred to as a rapid Covid test — within the past six hours. One challenge: only people vaccinated or tested in New York State can use it. “If you live in New Jersey, you will have to get tested in New York to get added to the database and go to the stadium,” Mr. Piscini said. IBM is trying to figure out how to access data from other states. Some venues may also accept other forms of certification. Will there ever be a national app for the U.S.? No. All of the 138 million Americans who have completed their first shot should have received the same Covid-19 vaccine record card created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s up to states, universities and businesses to decide whether they want to require these cards or offer a supplemental app. The White House said in March there were no plans for a universal federal vaccination database or a mandate for a single credential. While New York has promoted Excelsior as the way to safely and quickly reopen the state, lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states, including Texas, Florida and Arkansas, have moved to ban businesses from requiring vaccination, saying it is a privacy violation or will slow down reopening of commerce. What differentiates Excelsior visually? It is the only Covid-19 vaccine pass to produce a large illustration of the Statue of Liberty when it is scanned. Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem, Suhasini Raj from New Delhi and Ernesto Londoño from Rio de Janeiro. A correction was made on April 28, 2021 : Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the requirements to qualify for Denmark’s coronavirus vaccine passport. One may be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus within the preceding 72 hours; one does not need to have been both vaccinated and recently tested. [Heather Murphy](https://www.nytimes.com/by/heather-murphy) is a general assignment reporter who often writes about advances in DNA technology. A version of this article appears in print on May 2, 2021, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Summer’s Must-Have Accessory: Proof of Vaccination. 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