My self-experiment with a surprising ending
A little over two weeks ago, I stood in the blazing sun for almost four hours to get the corona vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The next fight for the digital vaccination certificate should take place today. In the end everything turned out differently.
Digital vaccination certificate: This is how it worked in the pharmacy
Since last Friday, two weeks after the vaccination, I have been “immunized” against the coronavirus. I was really happy that the digital vaccination certificate was introduced in Germany faster than expected. Today was the day. From this Monday you can have the digital vaccination certificate issued in pharmacies. Since I got to my dentist appointment a little early, I took the opportunity to get the vaccination certificate directly. Just stupid that the pharmacy wasn’t even listed on the website. It doesn’t cost anything to ask, I thought to myself, and yet I went – with success.
You need the following things to get the digital vaccination card:
- Vaccination card
- Identity card
- Smartphone with installed app (Corona warning app or CovPass app)
The pharmacist met me and took me to a consultation room. There was a PC there that I could see directly. So I was able to watch every step of his work. My vaccination card withstood the assessment. It was also a very old version that I got in childhood and where many other vaccinations were already recorded. But he took a close look at the vaccination certificate. I don’t know whether it would be that easy if I had a brand new vaccination card that only contains the corona vaccination. In any case, he was very conscientious, which I found good.
Then he logged into a website and filled out the registration for the digital vaccination certificate. All you need is the name, the date of birth, the date of the vaccination and which vaccine it is. After I had successfully compared the data, a large QR code was displayed on his monitor after confirming the data. This is where the Corona warning app or CovPass app is used. So make sure that you have installed and set up the apps. Once scanned with the app, the vaccination protection was stored in the Corona warning app.
The QR code is not displayed directly in the overview of the Corona warning app. The QR code, my name, date of birth and the validity of the ID are only displayed when the vaccination protection is called up. In addition, you get a printout with the QR code. This can be folded to the size of the vaccination card and taken with you if necessary. So you don’t necessarily need the app.
Digital vaccination certificate: Fortunately, uncomplicated
That’s it! I was really surprised that everything went so smoothly. The pharmacist, mind you in a small town in northern Germany, knew exactly how it works and how it is no chaos broke outas the media has prophesied in the last few days since the announcement. Well, the exhibition wasn’t particularly complicated now. But I cannot judge how it works in big cities.
In this Video we give you eight tips for dealing with the coronavirus in everyday life:
Two final thoughts
- The digital vaccination certificate can scanned in multiple apps on different devices. I tried the Corona app on two cell phones. Goes without problems. You can also reproduce the printout with the QR code. Companies, restaurateurs and other institutions will then have to use an identity card to check whether the QR code matches the person. I currently dare to doubt that this will happen everywhere. This method is therefore not fraud-proof.
- The digital vaccination card is only valid for one year. So I think we are Get vaccinated against the coronavirus annually have to. The long-term effect is currently unknown. In my unprofessional opinion, it will be like the flu shot. On the other hand, there is the date of issue of the digital vaccination pass, not the vaccination or immunization on it. So I could be wrong too.
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are solely the views of the author and are not necessarily the position of the entire GIGA editorial team.
