Armenian vaccination certifications are not recognised in Europe

Sona Martirosyan

Yerevan

It is difficult for Armenian citizens to enter the territory of the European Union as the electronic system adopted in the EU countries does not yet recognize certificates and QR codes issued in Armenia to those vaccinated against Covid-19. Therefore, even those who do receive an entry permit may not be allowed to visit indoor spaces – for example, cinemas and cafes.

Currently, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Spikevax vaccines produced by Moderna are used in Armenia. All of the vaccines available the vaccinated are issued with an appropriate certificate, which, however, is recognized only in five countries of the world – Croatia, Serbia, Georgia, Iraq and Egypt.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 vaccination process in Armenia, as of October 10, 514,241 people, including foreign citizens, have been vaccinated. Until now, only 3.5-4% of the population of Armenia have been vaccinated. On October 12, a record number of deaths from coronavirus per day was recorded – 43 cases, including one vaccinated person. The total death toll as of October 18 is 5,805 people.

Why European countries do not recognize “green passports” issued in Armenia, what steps the government is taking, and when the issue will be finally resolved. The author of this material also shares his personal story about how this prevented him from leaving for professional training in Europe.

“We are very sorry, you will not be allowed to visit Stockholm”

Since September 9, according to the epidemiological standards adopted in the European Union, Armenia has again found itself in a dangerous “red zone”. This was due to the high rates of the spread of the “delta” strain of Covid-19 and a sharp increase in the number of infected.

While there is no positive dynamics in overcoming the infection in Armenia, each of the EU countries will make a decision on its own whether or not to allow the entry of Armenian citizens into its territory.

Meanwhile, I went through several difficult stages of selection and joined the group of participants in the training for journalists in Sweden. I was sent an official invitation from the Swedish university, plane tickets and documents confirming the reservation for accommodation. All that remained was to get a visa.

For residents of the “red zone” countries, the procedure for entering Sweden is simple: you need to have a certificate confirming that you are fully vaccinated and the result of a negative PCR test.

It seemed that I could not have any problems here. I was vaccinated back in May when AstraZeneca was declared a “vaccine allowing free entry to the EU countries”. But the journalistic instinct told me that there would be problems and everything should be rechecked.

First, I decided to make sure if my data was really included in the ARMED unified electronic health information system in Armenia. It turned out that it was entered, and I did have a “green passport”, that is, a QR code confirming that I received both doses of the vaccine. Then I sent this certificate to Sweden, and a day later I received an official response:

“We are sorry, but your visit to Stockholm cannot take place. The presented certificate and QR-code do not correspond to European standards”.

Who is to blame?

The Ministry of Health, which is responsible for the entire vaccination process, was already aware that other citizens of Armenia have similar problems. I was offered to obtain a printed document from the local polyclinic – a certificate of vaccination, sealed and signed by the head of the polyclinic.

At the same time, the employees of the ministry still did not have absolute confidence that this document, issued at the clinic, would guarantee me entry to any European country. However, today the government of Armenia, represented by the Ministry of Health, cannot offer anything more.

QR code problems

The data of the citizens vaccinated in Armenia is entered into the ARMED system, the person then receives the corresponding QR-code by scanning which one can find out when and how many doses of the vaccine they have received.

By the way, residents of the country had the wrong impression about the situation with QR codes. For the majority, the main problem in Armenia is that in the case of one vaccine it is issued, in the case of the other it is not. However, when vaccinating with any of the vaccines available in Armenia, everyone receives the corresponding QR code – although not all vaccines are recognized by the World Health Organization – for example, Sputnik V.

The European Union, on the other hand, a few months ago created the EU digital Covid certificate system, which allows countries to recognize a QR code issued in other states, however, Armenia has not yet been included in this system.

According to Avet Manukyan, Director of the National Operator of Electronic Health, ARMED has already fully completed the technical work on integration into the EU digital Covid certificate system, and now a response from the European Union is expected.

“It was a rather difficult authorization process, which we went through completely, completed it. Nothing more is needed from us, we are in standby mode – when they say that the program is ready”.

The process is expected to be completed by the end of October.

So far, 27 EU countries and 16 non-member states are connected to the EU digital Covid certificate system.

Foreign Ministry is negotiating

Negotiations on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates are being conducted by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

At the request of JAMnews, the department replied that the process of recognizing certificates of vaccination against Covid-19, which are issued in Armenia, began on July 25 and is carried out through bilateral coordination with individual countries – on the principle of reciprocity.

The ministry reports that many countries are very cautious about easing restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and are in no hurry to simplify the entry and exit regime for foreigners, including with the mutual recognition of certificates.