DICT urged to fast track development of national vaccine database
MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Leila de Lima is calling on the Department of Information and Communications Technology to expedite the development of a national vaccine database.
This comes after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. bared last week that Hong Kong will not recognize COVID-19 vaccination cards issued by local government units in the Philippines. Rep. Ronnie Ong (Ang Probinsiyano party-list) shortly after warned that millions of OFWs could be denied entry by their host countries because of their lack of a national vaccination card.
In Senate Resolution No. 857 filed August 17, De Lima said the DICT, in coordination with the Department of Health and local governments, must immediately create a national vaccine database to prevent the falsification of vaccination documents and ensure that overseas Filipino workers will not face further challenges when traveling.
“The absence of a central and national database and system of releasing of vaccination cards by LGUs, which do not have a uniform design, contributes to the challenge of efficiently identifying authentic vaccination cards and confirming if an individual has been really inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines,” the resolution reads.
“While there have been several efforts to improve the security features of LGU-issued vaccination cards by several local chief executives, the lack of a standard verification system in place continues to make vaccination cards even more susceptible to counterfeiting or illegal replication."
De Lima cited the case of a man who received two doses of Sinovac from the local government of Mandaluyong but was able to secure another dose of Moderna at a vaccination site in Quezon City, reportedly through his company. Booster shots are not yet authorized in the Philippines.
"The said breach in the approved protocol on the allowed number of COVID-19 jabs proves that there are serious challenges in validating and ensuring that all individuals are following the existing policies on the administration of COVID-19 vaccines in the country,” she said.
“The availability of a centralized database of COVID-19 vaccinations will allow law enforcement units to efficiently identify and verify [the] truthfulness of presented vaccination cards, discourage and apprehend individuals who are faking said documents, and sustain the progress and efforts that the government has made in the vaccination program."
Citing difficulties with LGU's compliance and poor regional coverage of the DICT, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on August 13 said OFWs will be using government-issued “yellow cards” issued by the Bureau of Quarantine while the government works on a unified vaccine card. — Bella Perez-Rubio with reports from The STAR
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