Policy on Issuance of Passport for COVID-19 Vaccine by Japanese Government

Regarding the issuance of the COVID-19 vaccine passport, which records the COVID-19 vaccination history, etc., if the COVID-19 vaccine passport is being used overseas, the Japanese government will consider issuing the COVID-19 vaccine passport.

The EU (European Union) is considering the introduction of a passport for the COVID-19 vaccine, which has a record of COVID-19 vaccination history. The Chinese government has begun issuing COVID-19 vaccine passports to overseas travelers to prove that they have already been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. If internationally required to issue a passport for the COVID-19 vaccine, the Japanese government of has stated that it must issue a passport for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Japanese government has expressed concern that "issuing a passport for the COVID-19 vaccine could lead to discrimination against unvaccinated people." Therefore, the Japanese government is not considering using COVID-19 vaccination certificates in Japanese domestic or in local governments. However, the Japanese government is considering issuing a "COVID-19 vaccine passport" to Japanese people traveling overseas from Japan. Meanwhile, the Government of Japan has announced a new policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination for local governments. In Japan, COVID-19 vaccination for the elderly is scheduled to begin on April 12. The Government of Japan has informed local governments that if the COVID-19 vaccine is insufficient, the COVID-19 vaccine can be transferred between neighboring municipalities.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments
We thank all the medical staffs and co-medical staffs for providing and helping medical research at National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center. We appreciate Crimson Interactive Japan Co., Ltd. for revising and polishing our manuscript by Native English.

がん医療専門ドクター/癌ゲノム医療/新興感染症　　                           Science Published on March 20, 2021. by Kyoto@Takuma H