Digital vaxx certificates to be launched

TO STOP the proliferation of fake vaccination cards and to adhere to the international vaccination certificate standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) is set to launch its “VaxCertPH” nationwide.

VaxCertPH is the portal and mobile app for issuing vaccination certificates to fully vaccinated citizens in the Philippines.

Officials said it will be up and running and ready to be activated in the whole country after training local government unit (LGU) operators in the next few weeks.

The WHO finalized the guidelines and accompanying technical specifications for vaccination certificates on July 27, 2021.

“Even prior to WHO’s issuance of the standards for vaccination certificates, your DICT has already been working on the VaxCertPH in coordination with the DOH. With the new guidelines, we will continue to improve upon the current system to comply with worldwide standards,“ DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said in a press release.

The WHO proposed the use of digital vaccination certificates documenting a person’s current vaccination status as a mechanism to digitally record a person’s Covid-19-related health data via an electronic certificate for use in the continuity of health care or as proof of vaccination for purposes other than health care.

The Philippines’ VaxCertPH developed by the DICT for the Department of Health (DOH) relies on the data submitted by LGUs through the Vaccine Information Management System (VIMS). (JOB)