DICT to LGUs: Accurate vaccination list will make issuance of unified cards efficient

An MRT 3 passenger shows a vaccination card issued by Caloocan City. Soon the DICT will issue unified vaccination cards. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units should check the accuracy of their list of persons vaccinated against COVID-19 before submitting it to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which expects submissions to be completed sometime this August before it issues unified vaccination cards.

“Accuracy of data captured in the line list is of utmost importance; not only will it make the issuance of vaccination certificates efficient, it would also be useful for contact-tracing and monitoring of vaccinated individuals,” DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said in a statement issued on Monday.

Last Aug. 13, the DICT announced that a digital portal for issuing the unified COVID-19 vaccination cards would be formally launched in two weeks, but it would depend on the submission of LGUs of their vaccination data.

LGUs can submit their line lists of vaccinated residents through its vaccine administration system, which is part of its Vaccine Information Management System (VIMS).

Metro Manila mayors support the VIMS and are making efforts to submit their lists as soon as possible, according to Metro Manila Council Chairman Edwin Olivarez, who is also the mayor of Parañaque.

According to the DICT, its digital portal and mobile app called VaxCertPH has already been created and is ready to go live nationwide after the training of LGU operators in a few weeks.

The mobile app was developed by the DICT for the Department of Health (DOH) for the issuance of digital vaccination certificates.

At present, the DICT continues to coordinate with LGUs to provide them with guidance in using the VIMS, particularly on how to properly fill out forms.

Another part of the VIMS is the Vaccine Administration System (D-VAS) which was developed to improve the vaccine process.

According to Honasan, LGUs can use D-VAS to automate capturing of vaccinees’ information and for more efficient and accurate submissions of data to the VIMS.

Through the D-VAS, the whole vaccination process from registration to actual vaccination would take around 5 to 10 minutes only. As the whole process is paperless, data is managed properly.

“Using the DICT Vaccine Administration System or D-VAS, we were able to cut down the COVID-19 inoculation processing time by half, empowering the government to deliver this most important service to our citizens faster. Aside from this, with a simplified interface, we can also address the risk of inaccuracies in capturing the data,” Honasan said.

LGUs who have yet to avail of the D-VAS are encouraged to get in touch with any of the DICT’s regional offices, the DOH, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

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