An NHS app offered in England will be available to use as a vaccine passport from next Monday, the government has said.

However, it will only be accessible to those who have had both doses of the jab.

The existing app can already be used to request repeat prescriptions, arrange appointments to see a doctor and view medical records.

It is, however, separate to the NHS Covid-19 app, which is used for contact tracing.

The app can also show vaccine statuses, including for coronavirus, but currently this feature must be enabled by a GP before it appears on the app.

The new update will contain a separate feature to display coronavirus vaccine records, so the government said there should be no need to contact GPs.

The app will not show coronavirus test results, but the NHS plans to incorporate this in the future, the government website said.

“There are not many countries that currently accept proof of vaccination,” the government advice warns.

“So for the time being, most people will still need to follow other rules when travelling abroad – like getting a negative pre-departure test.”

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, welcome the news.

He said: “Steps to simplify the process of proving your vaccine status will remove some of the admin involved before travelling and should reduce test costs, with some destinations removing the need for a pre-departure test if passengers can provide proof of vaccination.

“Travellers do need urgent and concrete assurances from the government as to whether this form of proof will be accepted by green list countries.

“With travel due to restart imminently, many will plan to provide vaccination status rather than a test to travel and they risk being turned away from the flight and holiday if the NHS app is not accepted by a destination country.”