What you need to know
- The NHS app has been updated to support digital COVID passes.
- It now includes support for adding a COVID Pass to your Apple Wallet.
- That means you can display proof of vaccination or a negative test using your iPhone.
The NHS app has been updated to include support for adding a COVID pass to your Apple Wallet on devices like the iPhone 12, which will let users in England display proof of a negative test or vaccine on their phone.
As noted by Pocket-lint:
The NHS app has been updated on Apple devices so those in England can now add your NHS COVID Pass to Apple Wallet. The update to the app isn't actually a completely new version of the app in the Apple App Store, but some of the internal pages of the app have been updated instead.
The NHS COVID Pass, according to the UK government's website, will let users in England prove that they've either had a COVID-19 vaccine or have recently tested negative for the disease. It can be used for international travel as proof of vaccination, and to gain entry to certain events such as nightclubs, music venues, festivals, and more.
On the website it states:
You can access your NHS COVID Pass through the free NHS App on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Proof of your COVID-19 status will be shown within the NHS App. In the NHS App, your COVID-19 status includes a 2D barcode. The expiry date does not apply to your vaccination status. Any expiry date refers only to the barcode and will update automatically each time you go into the NHS App. If you obtain your NHS COVID Pass through the NHS App using an iPhone or iPad, then you will be able to store your COVID Pass using the Apple Wallet. You can then use this to show your COVID-19 status at events and venues in England, but not for international travel.
There are age requirements (depending on whether you're going abroad or using the app domestically) to get a pass, and you can obtain one for going abroad after having received two doses of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, or Pfizer vaccine, one dose of the Janssen vaccine, or have proof of "natural immunity shown by a positive PCR test result for COVID-19, lasting for 180 days after the date of the positive test and following completion of the self-isolation period." Domestically, this also includes a negative PCR or rapid lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of entry to a venue.
The use of NHS COVID Pass is voluntary for individual organizations, and users can also get passes electronically or even as a letter if they don't want to use the app.
The NHS app is not the same as the exposure notification app from the NHS, NHS COVID-19.
You can read more information about the new NHS COVID Pass for Apple Wallet on the UK government's website.
