Bahrain has launched a digital COVID-19 vaccine passport, one of the first countries to do so, the Gulf state’s media office said on Wednesday.
Governments and developers around the world are exploring how certificates and passports could help to reopen economies by identifying those protected against COVID-19.
Bahrain’s ‘BeAware’ app displays a green shield alongside an official certificate detailing the person’s name, date of birth, nationality and which vaccine was received.
Users must have received two doses of a vaccine, separated by 21 days, and then wait for two weeks for antibodies to develop, the statement said.
“Authorities can verify its validity by scanning a QR code linking to the national vaccine register,” it said.
Denmark has said it would launch an initial version of a coronavirus vaccination passport by the end of February.
Sweden also plans to launch a vaccine passport by summer, assuming there is an international standard in place for the document by then, the government said two weeks ago.
Bahrain, a small island state with a population of around 1.5 million, offers citizens and residents free of charge the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, one manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
Bahrain launches digital COVID-19 vaccine passport
https://arab.news/2xvnw
Bahrain launches digital COVID-19 vaccine passport
- ‘Authorities can verify its validity by scanning a QR code linking to the national vaccine register’
UN chief expresses deep concern over escalating Iran-US tensions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for diplomatic engagement to resolve differences between the United States and Iran amid a surge in military activities and rhetoric across the Middle East, his spokesperson said on Friday.
“We are very concerned about the heightened rhetoric we’re seeing around the region by the heightened military activities, war games or just military, increased military, naval presence in the region. And we encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN secretary-general.
The call for restraint follows a formal letter delivered on Thursday by Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. Iravani emphasized that Iran is prepared to exercise its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, promising a decisive and proportionate response to any military aggression.
Iravani further warned that in such a scenario, all bases, facilities, and assets belonging to hostile forces in the Middle East would constitute legitimate targets for Iranian defensive measures. The envoy added that the United States would bear full and direct responsibility for any unforeseen and uncontrollable consequences resulting from further provocations.
