Immutable COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate using Blockchain

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges around the world, including lockdowns, remote working and studying, and travel restrictions imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus. As vaccines have become more widely available, restrictions have begun to ease for those vaccinated. Many countries use paper-based COVID-19 vaccination certificates to prove vaccination status. However, traditional certificates are vulnerable to forgery and counterfeiting. We developed a blockchain-based system where vaccination certificates are stored and accessed via smart contracts on an Ethereum blockchain. The certificates are stored in a tamper-proof, decentralized manner, ensuring secure verification of vaccination status. This research project successfully designed and implemented a system that securely stores and verifies vaccination certificates using blockchain, demonstrating the benefits of this approach. According to our knowledge, this is the first kind of research initiative in Brunei to develop a blockchain-based immutable COVID-19 Vaccination certificate. Despite its advantages, blockchain still has its flaws, particularly in scalability and adoption, which should be considered for further optimization of the proposed system.