by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Ministry of Health has started issuing Electronic Vaccination Cards for fully vaccinated individuals.
The announcement was shared on the St. Kitts Health Promotion Unit’s Facebook page on Monday (August 23).
Several countries have started rolling out digital cards, inclusive of the U.S, Canada and Israel.
Minister of Health, the Hon. Akilah Byron-Nisbett provided more details on the legitimising of vaccinations cards internationally.
“Each country develops their own way of recording vaccination status. Once each country [determines] how we will provide that vaccination information through our ministries of foreign affairs, that information is then communicated to the other countries around the world so that they are aware that this is the official means by which you would be able to note someone’s vaccination status from the various [countries]. The same thing is being done here in St Kitts and Nevis, so the information would simply be passed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who then disseminates it to the various countries, indicating what our vaccination record status cards, [digital or otherwise will be],” explained Byron-Nisbett.
The digital copies of the COVID-19 vaccine record started on Tuesday (August 24) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m daily, at the Innovation Hub, ICT Center, Paul Southwell Industrial Site.
“Persons can present themselves with a photo ID, and if you already have your vaccination card, that vaccination card as well to the Innovation Hub, located at the National ICT centre. Once you get there, your ID and your vaccination card will be cross-checked with our database. Once the information is correct, you will then be provided with the URL and a unique ID number. Once you log on to the URL, you will then provide your first name, last name, date of birth, and the unique ID that you will be provided with; once all of those four categories match, you will then be able to retrieve your digital card.”
Byron-Nisbett also assured the public of the security measures to mitigate any chance of fake electronic vaccination cards.
“Your digital card looks similar to the actual physical card; the difference is that it includes a QR code. That QR code can then be scanned just to verify that indeed you are vaccinated. This is so that persons who have the idea that they can replicate the cards, even if they are not vaccinated, [may] need to use it, that would give you that give us that added security that unless that QR code matches back to our record, then you [won’t] be able to pause as if you are vaccinated.”
