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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider COVID vaccine passport being finalized by DOH, DICT

COVID vaccine passport being finalized by DOH, DICT

Published Jun 8, 2021 03:12 pm

A vaccine passport may just be the Filipinos' ticket to a return to normal life.

Workers wait for their vaccination inside SM Manila cinema that has been converted into a COVID-19 vaccination site on June 8, 2021. (Ali Vicoy/ Manila Bulletin)

The government has started working on the issuance of uniform vaccine passports that aims to facilitate safe mobility for people who have been inoculated.

Two government offices, namely the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Health (DOH), have been tasked to collaborate and come up with such vaccine pass, according to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

"Talagang makakatulong 'yan hindi lang sa domestic travel pati sa international travel. At sinasabi ko nga siguro magkakaroon uniform passport na kikilalanin ng lahat (It will help not only for domestic travel but also international travel. I've said we might have a uniform passport that will recognized by all)," he said during a televised press briefing Tuesday, June 8.

"'Yang passport will enable us talagang makabalik na sa normal (That passport will enable us to return to normal)," he added.

A vaccine passport, pass or card, which aims to provide proof of a person's vaccination status, was earlier proposed by the business community to promote safe trade and travel. Some local government units have issued vaccine certificates to vaccine recipients in their areas of jurisdictions but the business leaders have called on the national government to issue a digital and unified vaccine passport for Filipinos to prevent fraud.

READ: Business leaders bat for unified digital vaccine pass system

More than 1.6 million people have been fully vaccinated in the country since the government started the inoculative drive last March. It aims to vaccinate 9.7 million people in National Capital Region by late November to attain population protection. The original goal is to inoculate 58 to 70 million adult Filipinos to achieve herd immunity before the end of the year.

Roque admitted that vaccination does not provide 100 percent immunity from the coronavirus but will boost a person's protection from getting critically ill or infecting others. He noted that getting vaccinated will minimize the chance of a person to become a "spreader" of the coronavirus.

"So hayaan na muna natin ipatuloy ang proseso ng pagbubuo ng passport na ito. Ito ay ginagawa ng DICT in very close collaboration with the Department of Health at tingnan natin ang (So let the process of forming the passport continue. This is being done by the DICT in close collaboration with the Department of Health and let's see the) final product output because it can only lead to desirable events," Roque said.

READ: COVID-19 vaccine cards digitization proposed to prevent fraud

Related Tags

VACCINE PASSPORT President Duterte Harry Roque DICT Department of Health (DOH) palace
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