Digitized COVID-19 vaccine certificate out by end-August or early September — DOH official

The Philippines will likely roll out its digitized COVID-19 vaccine certificate by the end of August or early September, a health official said Tuesday.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Bureau of Quarantine have been working to generate a digitized vaccination card.

“By end of August, beginning of September, we hope we can already start automation and we will now have the DICT issue the digitized vaccine certificate,” she told an online forum.

The DICT previously said it planned to begin issuing the certificate in early August. 

Cabotaje said authorities will provide an update on the certificate “in two or three weeks.”

But she said that the government has yet to decide whether to make it a requirement.

“We just want to provide persons with vaccine certificate for basically travel requirements when they go abroad so that mas madali tapos mas (it’s easier and more) efficient and more standard ‘yung ating (our) vaccination certificate,” Cabotaje explained.

Over 11 million Filipinos have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of August 1. 

Starting August 6, however, Metro Manila will go into a stricter lockdown to curb the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News