Bermuda’s vaccination certificates were not designed for use on the island, but were issued for “foreign travel, education, or medical treatment”, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

A ministry spokeswoman added there was no on-island use for the certificates at present.

The certificates are available by e-mail to vaccinecertificates@gov.bm.

The request must come with a scan of the front and back of the card issued confirming each dose of the jab at a vaccination centre.

Vaccinated people were also advised to include a scan of photo identification.

A ministry spokeswoman said: “We are upgrading our systems, as soon immunised persons will receive a link via e-mail to retrieve their vaccine certificate.

“Therefore they will not be required to submit an e-mail request.”

Recipients of the certificate are sent a confirmation with a record number and a link to the document.

The PDF, which can be printed, gives the name, date of birth and other details for the holder, as well as details of each dose of the vaccine.

The documents will be signed by Ayo Oyinloye, the chief medical officer.

Vaccination certificates for travellers have become established practice for countries where dangerous communicable diseases such as yellow fever are widespread.

The National Health Service in Britain has launched a Covid-19 vaccination certificate for UK travellers headed to destinations that might require proof.

The UK will also check arrivals, using its red, amber and green list of countries, in an effort to keep out dangerous variants of the coronavirus.

The list will be reviewed every three weeks from Monday.

The British Government advised online that travellers “cannot currently enter the UK if you’ve been in or through a country on the red list unless you’re British, Irish or you have the right to live in the UK”.

The UK’s amber list, which includes Bermuda at present, requires a ten-day quarantine with two tests for the virus.