TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Beginning Thursday (July 14), Taiwan’s digital COVID vaccination certificate will be compatible with the SMART Health Card (SHC), which is recognized by several countries including the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia, among others.
During a press conference on Wednesday (July 13), CECC official Pang Yi-ming (龐一鳴) announced that Taiwan’s COVID certificate will be integrated into the SHC framework from 8:00 a.m. on July 14.
The European Commission announced on December 21 last year that Taiwan has officially joined its EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU-DCC). On Wednesday, Pang said Taiwan joined the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) on May 20, a US-led international organization that allows Taiwan to issue digital vaccine certifications in SHC format.
Pang pointed out that in addition to the United States, the SHC framework is also available in Japan, Canada, Australia (Sydney), the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Senegal. Compared to the EU format, the SHC contains more detailed information such as vaccine type, brand, name, batch number, etc. Therefore, an internet connection is required for its use.
Pang said users who undergo the standard three-step online application process for COVID digital certificates in Taiwan can apply for both SHC and EU-DCC certificates at the same time starting Thursday. After completing the application process, the certificate can be downloaded in SHC or EU-DCC format.
The SHC can then be stored in digital wallets on Apple Health and Apple Wallet for iPhone owners and Google Pay and Samsung Pay for Android users.
Vaccinated Taiwan residents who wish to apply for an SHC can do so by visiting the COVID-19 Digital Certificate website. However, Pang said the site would be down from Wednesday 6:00 p.m. to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to update to the new version.