Did the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) announce the introduction of a newly mandated worldwide vaccine certificate? No, that's not true: The two organizations announced the launch of a digital health partnership, aimed at establishing a global system that will help facilitate global mobility and protect citizens across the world from ongoing and future health threats. There is no mention of a global vaccine certificate being introduced.
The claim originated from a video published by TikTok user @bistriceanudragos (archived here) on June 13, 2023, with Dragoș Bistriceanu, TV anchor for Romania TV, a controversial TV station known for spreading disinformation, saying (translated into English by Lead Stories staff):
Important Announcement: WHO and the EU are trying to reintroduce the vaccine certificate worldwide.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jun 23 07:56:32 2023 UTC)
On June 5, 2023, the European Commission and WHO announced the launch of a landmark digital health partnership.
The partnership will include close collaboration in the development, management and implementation of the WHO system, benefitting from the European Commission's ample technical expertise in the field. This is the first building block of the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) which will develop a wide range of digital products to deliver better health for people around the world.
According to the WHO's GDHCN page, they are implementing an open-source platform for digital public health infrastructure. This platform aims to establish technical and governance procedures to ensure digital trust between the WHO and each member state. Member states participate voluntarily by submitting public keys to a directory managed by the WHO, allowing for trusted sharing with other member states. These public keys are then used to verify the authenticity of digitally signed health credentials, such as immunization cards and health records, ensuring they were issued by a recognized authority within the GDHCN.
The GDHCN is designed to build upon existing investments made by jurisdictions during the COVID-19 response, providing the necessary digital health infrastructure for resilience in future epidemic and pandemic responses. Additionally, it enables the use of digital personal health records to ensure continuity of care. There is no mention of any enforced vaccination certificates.
