Pia Cayetano files bill creating ‘vaccine passports’ for Pinoys

A bill seeking to establish a vaccine passport program in the Philippines has been filed by Senator Pia Cayetano ahead of the government's target COVID-19 vaccine rollout for 50 to 70 million individuals this year.

Senate Bill No. 1999 seeks to set up a registry of individuals who had been inoculated, what brand of vaccine and how many doses has been administered, and the vaccination dates, among others.

The name of the health facility where the vaccine was received, as well as the details of the health care worker who administered the vaccine shall also be indicated.

Cayetano said the vaccine passport shall primarily be digital and accessible for printing too.

This vaccine passport program would help in the monitoring of the vaccine distribution and its effect to individuals, Cayetano said.

Holders of vaccine passports may also be given certain benefits and exemptions related to international and domestic travel, local checkpoint and quarantine, and access to business establishments.

Nevertheless, the bill stated that "individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 as indicated in the Vaccine Passport shall not be considered immune from COVID-19, unless otherwise declared by the Department of Health based on reliable scientific evidence and consensus."

The DOH was mandated by the bill to issue the implementing guidelines for this proposed vaccine passport system.

Over 4,000 fixed vaccination points had already been identified nationwide for the COVID-19 immunization program, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

He previously explained that the vaccination process will be composed of five stages: registration; pre-vaccination education and counselling; screening including medical history review; vaccination and issuance of immunization card; and post-vaccination monitoring and surveillance.

The vaccine rollout in the Philippines is expected to start in February. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News