London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Covid-19: NI vaccination passport applications extended

Covid-19: NI vaccination passport applications extended

People in Northern Ireland who are travelling abroad up to and including 10 August can now apply for a Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

The certificate allows travellers to prove they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 for countries which require that for entry.

The system was offline for several days having been dogged by technical problems but resumed on Saturday night.

Officials said anyone leaving after 10 August should not use the system yet.

The Department of Health said increased traffic on the site may mean others cannot get their certificates on time.

"We would appeal to those travelling later than 10 August that they do not apply at this time and help us help their fellow citizens," said the department.

'Large numbers of applications'


The system, which can be accessed through the NI Direct website, had been offline since last Tuesday amid concerns about some users being able to see other people's information.

The data breach that caused the suspension has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office, which said it is assessing what happened.

The aim of the CovidCertNI system is to allow people to show they have had two doses of a vaccine


Dr Eddie O'Neill, the official in charge of the system, said most applications were being processed automatically but a small number had to be manually assessed.

"Some of them we can't process because they don't meet the criteria, such as being less than 14 days since your second vaccination," he said.

"We don't make those rules - that's under EU regulations, we don't control that.

"The good news is that of 2,900 applications, 2,600 have got their certificates and we're well on course to completing [applications for] 2 August.

"All that we can possibly progress, we will process."

Dr O'Neill said he believed some people had been applying for certification without having an urgent need for it.

"These are pretty large volumes of applicants and I doubt that all of those people who have applied are travelling today or tomorrow," he said.

"We think that some people have not respected the request to focus on people with a more pressing need."

What went wrong?


On Tuesday evening, the Department of Health announced that its vaccination certification service had "experienced a technical difficulty and availability will be temporarily interrupted".

It added that officials were "aware that a limited number of users... may be presented with data relating to other users".

When asked about the security problems on Friday, Dr Eddie O'Neill, from the Department of Health, said: "The problem wasn't actually in anything that we built."

Dr Eddie O'Neill says large numbers of people have been applying for certification service

He said that the system is using the NI Direct website's identity facility, through which people can set up a personal user account to access services such as driving licence renewals.

"It was never built for the scale of applications that we've been getting - thousands and thousands - and as a result of that just one of the components in the back end just failed."

How does NI compare to the rest of the UK?


Adults registered with GPs in England can apply for a NHS Covid Pass, which allows users to show proof of their vaccination, test or immunity status.

They are available to download through the NHS app (in England only) or applicants can request a paper document to be posted to their home address.

Holidaymakers in Scotland have been able to access a vaccine certificate since 19 May - it could be downloaded from an NHS portal or requested in the post through a freephone Covid status helpline.

However, the site suffered a security glitch on 22 May which enabled people to alter details on the document.

A fix was implemented on 25 May, which meant people in Scotland could only request the document be sent to them by post.

In Wales, public health advice still states that residents should "avoid international travel" but that is guidance rather than a ban.

Paper vaccine certificates have been available since May, and on 25 June the digital NHS Covid Pass became available for "urgent travel" only.

At that time, the Welsh government advised people to register to download the digital pass at least two weeks before they were due to travel abroad.

Unlike England however, residents in Wales cannot use the NHS app to access the NHS Covid Pass.

Instead they need to register for an NHS login which requires submitting photo ID such as a passport or driving licence.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×