BANGKOK: The Public Health Ministry yesterday (Sept 8) confirmed the introduction of a Digital Health Pass for use by passengers on domestic flights.
The Ministry confirmed it has signed a three-year agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and the Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) for the use of the app on flights with seven airlines so far.
The seven airlines are Bangkok Airways, Thai Smile, Air Asia, Air Asia X, Nok Airways, Lion Airways and Vietjet Air.
It added that the app would receive and store information from the Health Ministry on an indivudal’s vaccine status. This will then be incorporated into the existing Mor Prom vaccine app which was initially devised for people to book COVID-19 appointments but which was modified in due course to merely report any adverse vaccine reactions encountered.
The Digital Health Pass is essentially an electronic health certificate in digital format that will contain three essential pieces of information relating to a person’s vaccination details and COVID status:
1. COVID-19 vaccination data relating to the individual
2. The results of any RT-PCR tests from participating hospitals and the results of ATK tests from participating clinics and pharmacies.
3. The results of serum IgG antibody detection
All data stored in the app is secure, the Ministry assured. The app is encrypted to prevent tampering and data is stored using block chain technology that adheres to international security standards established by the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) and requires the consent of the document holder under the Personal Data Protection Act.
Citizens will receive a Digital Health Pass when they have successfully been administered two COVID-19 vaccinations or have successfully undergone COVID-19 testing at a hospital designated by the Ministry, which will be certified by the Ministry of Public Health’s electronic stamp. Those who have been vaccinated but do not receive the Digital Health Pass on its release are advised the check with the hospital where they were vaccinated.
Sathit Pitutecha, deputy public health minister, said that as the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) eases restrictions, a new set of precautionary measures are to be adopted by the aviation industry under a practice of universal COVID-19 prevention and the app is a key component of this.
At this stage, the Digital Health Pass will be used for domestic flights only and is expected to become operational soon. However, it may well be utilised for service in shops, restaurants and venues where customers are required to provide proof of their vaccine status at a later stage.
Digital Health Pass to be required for domestic flights