KRG to issue vaccine pass separate from Iraqi gov't: Official

A double-jabbed resident in the Region can obtain the pass for only 5,000 IQD (approximately 3.50$), according to Kato.

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/09/10 11:17

A health care worker administer COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation centre in Erbil, August 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

Kurdistan COVID-19 Vaccination Card Vaccine Pass Krg Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to apply for easy to afford physical vaccine passports starting Sunday, a regional health ministry official said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a vaccine passport scheme separate from that of the federal government of Iraq, Harbi Kato, the IT department head at the health ministry, told Kurdistan 24 on Thursday.

The Iraqi health ministry on Tuesday announced that citizens need to obtain a government-issued vaccine passport to travel abroad with fewer COVID-19 restrictions. The document will cost 30,000 IQD (approximately 20$), according to the ministry.

A double-jabbed resident in the Kurdistan Region, however, can obtain the pass for only 5,000 IQD (approximately 3.50$), according to Kato.

To obtain the document, a person must submit their travel passport and the document showing they have been fully vaccinated with either the British-Swedish AstraZeneca, American-German Pfizer-BioNTech, or Chinese Sinopharm, Kato added.

A sample of KRG-issued vaccination card. (Photo: KRG)

The Kurdistan Region began its vaccination drive in March 2021, giving the jabs firstly to its health care workers. Up until now, the region has administered over 497,000 doses it had received as its share from the Iraqi federal government.