Sweden on Friday said it was moving ahead with plans to develop a digital coronavirus certificate that could possibly be introduced this summer.
"We now have a model that is simple, safe and versatile. I envisage that we will have the vaccination certificates in place by the summer," said Anders Ygeman, minister for digital development.
He said that an individual who has been vaccinated would be able to request a certificate that could be shown on a smart phone, as an e-mail, a regular document or a so-called near field communication (NFC) tag that could be glued in a passport.
The vaccination certificate would be signed by a Swedish authority with the help of a so-called encryption key so that its authenticity can be certified, for instance at border control.
Ygeman's remarks were made after he received a draft proposal for the certificate. It was drafted by several authorities and agencies including the Public Health Agency, and the Swedish eHealth Agency that leads and coordinates government e-health initiatives.
The government commissioned the plan last month.
7% received a shot
As of Friday, about 7% of Sweden's adult population had received their first vaccine dose, the Public Health Agency said.
Sweden, meanwhile, has recorded over 13,000 Covid-19-related fatalities, the agency added.
According to the agency, the country of 10.3 million has recorded more than 684,000 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
