Digitization of health documents: benefits for Tourism
Since the first confirmation of a case of COVID-19 in Brazil, tourism has been one of the most impacted sectors. With the beginning of social isolation, closure of international borders, the UNWTO estimated a drop of more than 70% in revenue from international travel in the years 2020 and 2021 compared to the pre-pandemic period.
One of the reflections of this unprecedented scenario is that many face-to-face services have started to be largely done digitally, such as food delivery, digital banking services, distance education, video conversations, and several other changes in the population's behavior in relation to their daily activities. In the health area, this also happened, such as the significant increase in the number of consultations carried out remotely, in addition to home services such as test collection and medication application, and international scientific collaborations to face the pandemic.
In 2022, the resumption of tourism proved to be more consistent, with the adoption of biosafety protocols, such as vaccination, use of masks, extensive testing, and greater knowledge of health safety precautions. To ensure that travelers adopted the main solution to cope, the vaccine, the WHO defined rules for proof of vaccination for international travelers entering countries. Official documents, popularly called vaccine passports, began to be made available in Brazil through the Connect SUS citizen application in July 2021.
The issuance of the National COVID-19 Certificate can be done in English, Portuguese and Spanish, and is accepted in several countries. To issue it, it is necessary to log in to the application (available for Ios and Android ) or site Connect SUS and access the Vaccines area, in Documents. If the vaccination schedule is complete, you will be able to observe in this area the documents that can be issued and you must select the COVID-19 Certificate. You can select the language and later download a pdf or add your mobile device (Wallet or Google pay) to your digital wallet.
In addition to choosing the language, it is possible to select the certificate standard: Brazilian or from the European Union. The standard came into force on October 14, 2022 in a decision that establishes the equivalence between the COVID-19 vaccination certificates issued by Brazil and the European Union, namely: the 27 EU member states, the countries of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and 49 other countries outside the bloc, totaling 76 countries. The Updated list of countries can be accessed on the EU website.
Another document that can be issued at Conecta SUS is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (CIVP) that proves yellow fever vaccination. It was made available in December 2022 and issues the CIVP for vaccines taken from 2020 or transcribed from Previous Registration . It allows the issuance of the certificate, which is required in several countries such as South Africa, China, Bolivia, Zambia and Australia. The WHO regularly updates on its website the countries that require the document. The validity of the yellow fever CIVP begins 10 days after the date of vaccination and extends throughout life. If the vaccine was applied before 2020, or was not carried out, the Transcription of Booklet , it is possible to issue this document digitally in the gov.br.
In the context of national travel, since 2015 users can access via application (or website) the National Health Card used for service throughout SUS Network in the national territory. It can be accessed in the Profile area for tourism, events and related businesses. It is possible to check the validity of documents (CIVP, COVID-19 Certificate in Brazilian or European standard and COVID-19 exams), through the digital solution. In this way, you can check the certificates of various countries, in the Connect SUS application or on the website of the Validates QR Code.
More than 60 million test results, 490 million vaccination records and 28 million vaccination certificates have already been made available. The impact is both for national tourism and for international tourism. An example of this are the Brazilians who went to the Qatar Cup, and who used the certificate issued by the application to access the country and enter the events. In Brazil, foreigners can be received more safely by checking the validity of international certificates. Providing security mechanisms to boost the resumption of national tourism, receive foreign travelers safely and guarantee the means for Brazilians to travel internationally is an important achievement for strengthening the sector.
Sources:
https://www.unasus.gov.br/noticia/coronavirus-brasil-confirma-primeiro-caso-da-doenca
https://www.unwto.org/impact-assessment-of-the-covid-19-outbreak-on-international-tourism
https://www.bahiana.edu.br/blog/8/o-que-mudou-com-a-pandemia-da-covid-19-na-area-da-saude/