The NHS app has been updated on Apple devices so those in England can now add your NHS COVID Pass to Apple Wallet. The so-called 'vaccine passports' have proved controversial, but it seems they're here to stay. 

The Government isn't able to prevent businesses from asking for a pass for access to their premises, so it seems that it's making the pass easier to use. 

The update to the app isn't actually a completely new version of the app in the Apple App Store, but some of the internal pages of the app have been updated instead. 

As with the QR code in the NHS app itself and the PDF version you can obtain, the pass has a shelf life of a month, after which you'll need to renew it in the NHS app. 

Note that the pass lives in the main NHS app rather than the exposure notification-enabling NHS COVID-19 app (which uses Apple and Google's contact tracing tech). If you haven't got access to a NHS COVID Pass yet, you'll need double vaccination for starters. Then you need to make sure that the NHS app is set up for you.

Essentially you need to prove who you are with a video and provide your NHS number. Then your health records will be synchronised and your vaccination status updated if it's more than five days after your second dose (it may show earlier). 

There's also a change in wording to how the domestic version of the NHS Covid Pass is presented in the app - it now says "you may need to show your NHS COVID Pass at places that have chosen to use the service".