Government to Launch Anti-Fraud Digital Vaccine Certificates that Can be Uploaded to Smartphones
Faizel Patel – 10/09/2021
Health Minister Joe Phaahla says government is aware of the debate surrounding vaccination passports which is required by some countries for international travel.
Phaahla together with his deputy Dr. Sibongiseni Dhlomo & other experts were addressing the media on Friday on government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and the national vaccination rollout plan.
Phaahla says the vaccination campaign is maintaining a steady momentum, but it needs to be speeded up.
He says South Africa has not yet adopted the vaccination passports initiative as the country only requires a less than 72-hour-old PCR COVID test (polymerase chain reaction test) for either people leaving or entering the country.
“We have however commenced with the development of a digital vaccination certificate to confirm that a person has been vaccinated. We have made sure that the certificate is protected from fraud and can be uploaded on your smartphone and is printable. This initiative is in line with the WHO initiated vaccination certificate attempting to standardize vaccination proof in the world.”
Phaahla says once the certificate is available it will be available for all those who had been vaccinated and are on the EVD- system (electronic Vaccination Data system).
Phaahla also warned fraudsters who want to produce fraudulent certificates saying government has no intention to produce this certificate to access public services.
