Restrictions related to Covid-19 continue, and more and more people are required to show a QR code in public places. The editors figured out why it is needed, where it is impossible to get without it and how to get it.
QR code after vaccination. Photo: Ivan Makeev
On November 12, 2021, the government of the Russian Federation submitted to the State Duma a bill on the mandatory presentation of QR codes in public places. Public places are understood as long-distance and international transport, shopping centers, public catering. Grocery stores and pharmacies will not be affected by the ban. It is assumed that this measure will be valid from February 1 to June 1, 2022 for citizens over 18 years old, but in some regions the requirement to present QR codes has already been canceled.
The exact list of objects and events with a QR code visit will be determined at the local government level. Now restrictions related to COVID-19 are in effect in almost all regions of the Russian Federation. Decisions on the introduction of restrictions or their cancellation are made by local authorities, depending on the epidemiological situation.
A vaccination QR code is a special barcode with encrypted information. Only those who have completed the full coronavirus vaccination process receive it. When scanning this code, you can get information about the validity of the vaccination certificate and a link to verify its authenticity.
What is the vaccination QR code for?
If there is a vaccination QR code, a person has the right to visit restaurants, cafes and other public catering organizations, as well as mass events during the period of restrictions caused by COVID-19. In addition, the code gives the right to settle without restrictions in the recreation areas of the Krasnodar Territory, as well as travel abroad to those countries that allow foreigners vaccinated with Russian vaccines into their territory. Among them are Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and others.
Moscow was the first to use QR codes. From July 1 to July 19, 2021, it was possible to visit mass events, theaters, cinemas and catering places only with such a code. It was also assumed that QR codes would be mandatory for travel in public transport.
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What drugs are available and what are the restrictions?
Children under 18 do not need to issue a QR code. Also, the code will not be required when visiting pharmacies and shops. Moreover, if a person has a QR code, but he falls ill with covid, the code is suspended. In addition, some categories of citizens will still be able to visit a restaurant without a QR code: foreigners with a negative PCR test and those who have a medical exemption for the vaccine, but have a valid negative PCR test.
In which regions of Russia does it operate
The QR code received after vaccination will be valid in any organization on the territory of the Russian Federation. In the summer of 2021, it was required only in Moscow, the Moscow Region, Yakutia, as well as when checking into hotels, sanatoriums and other health facilities in Russia. Since autumn, the situation has changed, and in almost all regions of the Russian Federation it is impossible to enter a catering establishment, a cinema, and even some shops without a code.
How to get a vaccination QR code
A vaccination QR code can be obtained after completing the full vaccination cycle. That is, either after the second injection of a two-component vaccine, or after the introduction of a one-component vaccine.
Sputnik is a two-component vaccine. It is placed with an interval of 3–4 weeks. There is a one-component (from the center of Gamaleya)one.
EpiVacCorona is a two-component vaccine. It is placed with an interval of 2–3 weeks (from the center “Vector”)2.
KoviVac is a two-component vaccine. It is placed with an interval of 2 weeks (from the Chumakov Center)3.
Some time after vaccination, the code will appear in your account on the State Services website. It will also be available in the mobile applications “Gosuslugi”, “Gosuslugi Stop Coronavirus” and “EMIAS.INFO”.
In paper form, the certificate of vaccination will be issued at the place where the last vaccination was administered. After that, the information will be transferred to the Gosuslug database, and it will appear in your personal account in another 1–2 days.
If not the entire vaccination cycle has been completed, and only the first of two vaccinations has been administered, only a certificate will appear in your personal account. The QR code will appear only after the introduction of the second vaccination.
Data on the vaccination certificate in the personal account of “Gosuslug” is displayed in two languages: Russian and English.
From February 21, 2022, a QR code can be obtained if you officially have been ill, get a positive antibody test or have a medical certificate, information about which will also be available on the State Services portal. Such a QR code is valid for six months and is issued only once. It is issued even to foreigners.
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How to save the vaccination QR code to your phone
QR code, after it appears in the personal account of the Gosuslug portalfour, will no longer be lost. But it is more convenient to present it from a mobile phone if you download the mobile application “Gosuslugi”, “Gosuslugi Stop Coronavirus” or “EMIAS.INFO”.
Finding a QR code on a mobile phone is not difficult. Here are step-by-step instructions for accessing it, depending on the source.
Government Services Portal
Login to the portal under your account;
In the search line, write “certificate of the vaccinated”;
Open QR code.
Enter the portal and write in the search box “certificate of the vaccinated”.
Mobile application of the State Services
Login to the application;
Select the section “Catalogue of services”;
Or write in the search line “Vaccination” or “Certificate”;
Press the button “Vaccination COVID-2019”;
Download the certificate in PDF format.
Enter the application, write “Certificate” in the search box and download it
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Enter the application, write “Certificate” in the search box and download its Mobile application of the State Services. Stop coronavirus
Log in to the application using the login and password from the State Services;
Save the opened QR code to your phone.
Sign in to the app and save the opened QR code
Log in to the application and save the opened QR code EMIAS.INFO mobile application
Login to the application;
Indicate the number of your CHI policy;
Open the QR code in the “Digital Certificate” section (you must first log in to the “Medical card” section).
Log in to the application, indicate the CHI policy number and receive a QR code in the “Digital Certificate” section.
Log in to the application, indicate the number of the CHI policy and receive a QR code in the “Digital Certificate” section
You can also print the QR code so that it is always at hand. However, it is important to know that it is only valid when presenting a passport or other identification document at the same time.
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Popular questions and answers
What is the validity period of the vaccination QR code?
The validity period of a QR code depends on what it confirms.
However, a proposal has already been submitted to the Duma to reduce these terms. According to a freelance specialist of the Ministry of Health of Russia for medical prevention in the Urals Federal District, Doctor of Medical Sciences Sergey Tokarev, the strain of the Delta virus is more aggressive and the person who has had it cannot be considered incapable of infecting others, since antibodies have been present in the body for less than a year.5.
Is it possible for a foreign citizen to get a QR code?
Foreign citizens can receive a QR code if they have been vaccinated with a Russian vaccine. To receive the code, they need to contact the clinic where they were vaccinated. If these citizens were vaccinated in their own country, information about this is available from the Russian Foreign Ministry. Citizens of other states cannot yet receive a QR code on the Internet, but the government plans to solve this problem in the near future.
What is the responsibility for the production, sale and purchase of fake QR codes?
To date, there are several articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, on the basis of which both those who make fake QR codes and those who buy them can be held liable.
1. Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud”; 2. Art. 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Forgery, production or circulation of forged documents”; 3. Art. 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Introduction by an official into official documents of knowingly false information for mercenary motives.”
The maximum sanction under each of these articles is two years in prison.
However, according to Anna Oreshkova6, a medical lawyer and a lawyer of the Society for the Protection of Patients’ Rights, the forgery of a QR code cannot be equated with the forgery of documents, the punishment for which is provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to Oreshkova, the use of a fake code would be more likely a violation of sanitary and technological standards, which does not provide for criminal prosecution.
However, it is better not to joke with the law. Despite the fact that vaccination is mandatory for employees of some sectors of the economy, today in the Russian Federation voluntary vaccination, therefore, a citizen can choose for himself whether to vaccinate him or not.
But according to the decision of the chief state sanitary doctor for Moscow dated June 15, 2021 No. 17, even for those industries in which vaccination is mandatory, 60% of employees can be vaccinated. The remaining 40% include those who have been ill with covid, have a medical exemption from vaccination, as well as those who have refused vaccination for other reasons. And even in the event that a person decides not to be vaccinated, this is not punishable, in contrast to a targeted violation of the law.
To check the validity of QR codes, a device based on artificial intelligence was recently created. It also controls the presence of the mask. The creators guarantee the security of the data that will be received by the device. Whether it will be used is still unknown. To date, the only approved verification mechanism is the Stopcoronavirus State Services application.
