Problems with the Covpass app and digital vaccination certificate? This is how it works with the QR code
As of today, the Europe-wide vaccination certificate is available. However, reading the QR code into the digital vaccination card does not work in all cases. What to do if you get an error message.
Anyone who has been fully (usually twice) vaccinated against Covid and has passed the 14-day waiting period after the second vaccination can leave many of the pandemic-related restrictions behind without a test. But the digital vaccination certificate, known as Covpass, which has been issued by pharmacies since mid-June, has its pitfalls. Because in some cases reading the code into the Covpass app does not work. In this case you will get an error message, which in most cases looks like this: “This QR code is not a valid vaccination certificate (VC_PREFIX_INVALID)”.
Here you should make sure that you are using the correct code. In the past, many vaccination centers in some federal states issued a vaccination certificate in accordance with Section 22 of the Infection Protection Act, which, however, does not yet comply with the guidelines as they have now been passed across the EU. Or – and this is also not uncommon – it is a QR code from a vaccine manufacturer. The manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, for example, prints a code on the vaccination cards that is not individualized, but only leads to a page with standardized further information on the vaccination itself and possible side effects.
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Covpass app or Corona warning app: the choice is yours
The way to the specially generated QR code that the app needs to read is different. You can get it (depending on the federal state) either directly at the vaccination center, by post or, if you have been vaccinated by a doctor who has not issued it directly, at participating pharmacies. The code is free of charge for you, but the pharmacist receives remuneration from the state for his work.
Incidentally, the Covpass app is only one way of reading in the individual QR code. Since version 2.3 of the Corona warning app, you can also read in your vaccination certificate here – and you should do this for the sake of simplicity, since the Covpass app cannot do more than the Corona warning app, which you can check in any case in some cases -in can be used at events.
If you check in somewhere using the Corona warning app, it is known to be significantly less sensitive from a privacy point of view than with the Luca app, which is still used by many federal states (and expensive extra paid). This ensures that you can log in properly, but that you do not have to save your location data on any central server. What many do not know: The QR codes that can be found at the entrance to events or restaurants are compatible with both the Corona warning app and the Luca app, regardless of which of the two systems they are generated for were.
The compatibility of EU-wide vaccination certificates has been added since July. According to the EU Commission, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain have fulfilled the requirements of the EU states and the Czech Republic all requirements, also Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway. In all of these countries it should be possible for the code displayed in your app to be verified. This is to ensure that no one is faking a vaccination with a simple graphic. What you also need is an ID with a photo, such as an identity card, so that it is clear that the vaccination certificate on file really belongs to you.
