WHO and EU announce partnership to build 'global system' of digital vaccine passports

GENEVA. The World Health Organization and the European Union announced their collaboration on global digital vaccine passports at a joint press conference in Geneva on June 5. 

“In June 2023, WHO will take up the European Union (EU) system of digital COVID-19 certification to establish a global system that will help facilitate global mobility and protect citizens across the world from on-going and future health threats, including pandemics,” the WHO press release states. 

“This is the first building block of the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) that will develop a wide range of digital products to deliver better health for all.” 

‘The first building block of the global WHO system becomes operational in June 2023 and aims to be progressively developed in the coming months,’ the WHO press release states.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of digital health solutions in facilitating access to health services,” WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said during the press conference. “While the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic is now over, investment in digital infrastructure remains an important resource for health systems and for economies and societies at large.” 

The WHO has stated that they will use the “EU Digital COVID Certificate” as a model to establish a global digital health certificate.  

“One of the key elements in the European Union’s work against the COVID-19 pandemic has been digital COVID-19 certificates. To facilitate free movement within its borders, the EU swiftly established interoperable COVID-19 certificates (entitled ‘EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate’ or ‘EU DCC’),” the WHO press release reads. 

“With this collaboration, WHO will facilitate this process globally under its own structure with the aim to allow the world to benefit from convergence of digital certificates.” 

During the height of the Covid crisis, the EU Digital COVID Certificate made it so that EU citizens could only travel to other member states if they provide proof of vaccination, recovery, or a recent negative COVID test. In some EU countries like Austria, citizens were essentially segregated from society if they refused to take to COVID injections.  

READ: Austria formally segregates unvaxxed from society, promises rigid enforcement and heavy fines 

“This partnership is an important step for the digital action plan of the EU Global Health Strategy,” EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides said.  

“By using European best practices we contribute to digital health standards and interoperability globally – to the benefit of those most in need. It is also a powerful example of how alignment between the EU and the WHO can deliver better health for all, in the EU and across the world,” she continued. “As the directing and coordinating authority on international health work, there is no better partner than the WHO to advance the work we started at the EU and further develop global digital health solutions.” 

The EU’s Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton added that “[t]he EU certificate has not only been an important tool in our fight against the pandemic, but has also facilitated international travel and tourism,” and that WHO expansion of the digital vaccine passports will be “a global tool against future pandemics.”  

“The first building block of the global WHO system becomes operational in June 2023 and aims to be progressively developed in the coming months,” the WHO press release states. 

The WHO stressed that it “will not have access to any underlying personal data, which would continue to be the exclusive domain of governments.” 

“This partnership will work to technically develop the WHO system with a staged approach to cover additional use cases, which may include, for example, the digitisation of the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis,” the WHO announced. “Expanding such digital solutions will be essential to deliver better health for citizens across the globe.” 

The cooperation between the EU and the WHO aims to “encourage maximum global uptake and participation” in their digital health certificate. 

“Particular attention will be paid to equitable opportunities for the participation by those most in need: low and middle-income countries.” 

Global digital vaccine passports have been on the WHO’s agenda for some time. In February 2022, the agency commissioned T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, to develop a global digital vaccine passport system. 

With the new pandemic treaty and the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), if they are passed in 2024 as planned, the WHO could be “installed as a de facto governing body for the global Deep State,” Dr. Joseph Mercola stated.