Updated versions of the Covid-19 My Vaccine Pass will soon be available, as current passes are set to expire in the coming weeks.
From May 24, updated My Vaccine Passes will be available to download for those aged 12 and over who are up to date with their vaccination. For those 18 and over, it will include booster doses.
The updated pass will look slightly different with a refreshed design (but it will still have a QR code), and will have an expiry date of six months from the date of issue, the Ministry of Health has advised.
In April, the Government removed the requirement for vaccine passes to be used to access certain events and venues, including hospitality, close-proximity businesses such as hairdressers and gyms, and sport, after being part of daily life for many for four months.
While My Vaccine Passes are no longer legally required, some businesses can choose to keep them as a condition of entry and people are encouraged to have their pass for when it might be needed.
All current My Vaccine Passes expire on June 1, or earlier, depending on when the pass was first requested.
From May 31, if you are not up to date with your vaccinations due to having had Covid-19 in the previous three months, you will be able to download a vaccine pass if your positive rapid antigen result was recorded in My Covid Record.
READ MORE
- Data from Delta and Omicron outbreaks show 1 in 15 unvaccinated cases were hospitalised - significantly more than vaccinated
- Vaccine passes, mandates in some places will end after Omicron's peak, Jacinda Ardern says
- Anti-vaxxers target primary schools with 'extreme' messages
- Anti-mandate woman arrested at Labour MP's restaurant for refusing to show vaccine passport
The Ministry of Health said what had been learned over the past couple of years was there were “no certainties” with Covid-19 and with new variants circling the globe, “it is best we are prepared for every eventuality”.
For this reason, authorities said everyone should stay up to date with their vaccinations, and download their updated pass as it was an important record of their vaccination status.
At the time the move to loosen the vaccine pass mandate was announced, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this was the case “for now”.
“I will still provide the same disclaimer that every country realistically must: that, should there be a variant that demands it or a change in circumstances, we may need them again.”
Ardern urged that, although not legally required, vaccine passes were something we should “keep in our back pocket”.
As of Saturday, 95.2% of eligible Kiwis aged 12+ had received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine, and 2.6 million people (70.8% of those eligible) had received their booster.
You can request a new pass through My Covid Record (external link), by calling 0800 28 29 26, or by visiting a participating vaccination site.
