An NHS service allowing people travelling abroad to access their record of vaccination status themselves has been launched. The measure will provide confirmation of vaccination when required for foreign travel.
A vaccination status letter can be downloaded from the NHS Inform patient portal or – for those not online – requested in the post via a Freephone Covid Status Helpline.
Only those planning to travel to a country or territory where a record of vaccination status is needed as an entry requirement are advised to download the record or request it.
While there are no countries currently requiring vaccination status to travel, international travel restrictions can change quickly requiring such measures to be in place.
The measures are intended to ease the burden on the NHS by removing the need for people to ask their GP for a status record.
As Scotland’s vaccination programme progresses, vaccination status will be replaced by digital Covid Status Certificates, which will include vaccination and testing data to be used for outbound international travel.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said:“Given the risk of returning with infection, and especially of introducing new variants of the virus, we continue to be highly cautious about international travel. Everyone should continue to limit their travel abroad and while I understand the need for some people who want to reunite with family, when it comes to holidays, my advice continues to be play it safe and staycation this summer.
“For those that do need it, this new service will provide people with a record of their vaccination status for outbound international travel.
“They should only access their record if they are planning to travel within 21 days and it is a requirement of their destination.”
Anyone can access their Covid-19 Vaccine Status online, by logging on to www.nhsinform.scot/covid19status
If you are intending to travel abroad you should:
- check the entry requirements for your destination country on the UK foreign travel advice pages
- get up-to-date information from the website of your destination country
- check the re-entry requirements for your return to Scotland
- only request a vaccination record if it is absolutely required and you are due to travel in the next 21 days
If you are worrying about a missing vaccination letter then there is a new website here where you can put your details in and find out when your vaccination appointment is. Alternatively you can call 0800 030 8013 to check with a real person about any appointment or to change it.
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