CAAS eases rules on vaccine proof for incoming VTL travellers from US after outcry from some S’poreans

• Singapore’s authorities are easing the rules to allow other forms of vaccination proof for those using the Singapore-US vaccinated travel lane
• These include letters signed by the travellers’ vaccination providers
• Previously, the Singapore Government accepted only vaccine certificates issued in the Smart Health Card format 
• Smart Health Cards are, however, issued only in nine of 50 US states now
• This led to unhappiness among some Singaporeans who cannot provide vaccination proof and must hence be quarantined if they return home 

SINGAPORE — After some United States-based Singaporeans expressed frustration at being unable to use a quarantine-free travel lane between Singapore and the US because they did not have a permitted proof of vaccination against Covid-19, Singapore’s authorities are easing the rules to allow other forms of vaccination records in the meantime for such travellers. 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Saturday (Nov 13) that under the new rules that take immediate effect, travellers using the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) between the US and Singapore can provide either:

• Their digital vaccination record retrieved through the state’s or local health authority’s public health database

• Their physical vaccination record and a letter signed by their vaccination provider proving their inoculation status. This letter should contain the traveller’s details and information on his or her vaccination  

Previously, the Singapore Government accepted only vaccination certificates issued in the Smart Health Card format by issuers in the US on the CommonTrust Network, a global network of trusted health-data sources, or the Vaccination Credential Initiative, a coalition of public and private entities that is working to standardise the tracking of data in inoculation records. 

Yet only nine out of 50 US states issue Smart Health Cards. 

CAAS noted in its statement that there were also third-party issuers that do not administer Covid-19 vaccines but provide their users with a digital vaccination record, often at a fee. 

The civil aviation regulator said that it was integrating into its system third-party issuers that verify the vaccination records submitted by users, such as with state vaccination registries.

Ms Margaret Tan, CAAS’ director of airport operations regulation and aviation security, said: “With the roll-out of the Smart Health Card across more states and the onboarding of credible third-party issuers, we expect most travellers from the US to be able to produce a digitally verifiable vaccination certificate within the next one to two months.” 

In the meantime, however, she added that the authorities would be allowing the other forms of vaccination proof for incoming VTL travellers from the US. 

Singapore citizens and permanent residents can show their vaccination documents at the airlines’ check-in counters for verification before departure and on arrival at Singapore immigration. They do not need to apply for a vaccinated travel pass to travel via the VTL. 

Short-term visitors and holders of long-term passes who must apply for the pass but cannot upload their vaccine certificate may file their applications with Singapore’s Safe Travel Office at safetravel.ica.gov.sg/contact-us with the vaccination documents attached for verification.

CAAS’ statement came after some Singaporeans in the US faced challenges in getting proof of their vaccination when trying to return home via the VTL.

Some had not been inoculated against Covid-19 in the states that issue Smart Health Cards. 

One Singaporean student wrote to TODAY’s Voices section earlier this month saying that she had received her Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine jabs through a university in Illinois state, which is not one of the nine that issue Smart Health Cards. 

Ms Natalie Koh Ting Li said that she had been profoundly dismayed to learn that Singapore would not be recognising her vaccination because she lacked the documentation. 

She wrote that it would be impractical for her to forgo the VTL arrangement because she would then have to spend part of her short year-end break in quarantine here. 

Responding to the news on Saturday, Ms Koh said that she was heartened to see that the authorities were finally listening and responding to the pleas of US-based Singaporeans. 

“This easing of restrictions will make it possible for us to go home. I am definitely planning on returning home to Singapore next month and cannot wait to see my family,” she added. 

DIGITALLY VERIFIABLE PROOF GUARDS AGAINST FORGERY

Ms Tan from CAAS said that vaccination was an important safeguard for quarantine-free entry into Singapore so as not to compromise public health. 

The Government requires digitally verifiable vaccination proof to guard against forgery. 

Right now, it can verify all digital vaccination certificates issued in 15 of the 16 countries with which Singapore has established VTLs. 

Fourteen of them have a national system to issue such certificates, while Canada does not have a national system but recently developed a standardised proof of vaccination in the Smart Health Card format.

The US is the only exception. It does not have a national system or a standardised proof of vaccination. Instead, there are many issuers, including individual states, pharmacies and supermarkets, Ms Tan said. 

At present, only nine American states — California, Hawaii, Louisiana, New York, Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Utah and Washington — are issuing Smart Health Cards. 

Six more states — Arizona, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, West Virginia and the District of Columbia — are in the process of doing so, while three others, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oklahoma, have begun testing the system. 

Besides these states, pharmacies and healthcare providers such as Walmart, CVS Health, Rite Aid Pharmacy and UCHealth also issue Smart Health Cards.