DILG urges LGUs to upload accurate vaccination data to VIMS

MANILA – With the soft launch of VaxCertPH program in the National Capital Region (NCR) this month, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging all local government units (LGUs) to fast-track the uploading of complete and accurate data to the DICT’s Vaccine Information Management System (VIMS) to enable fully vaccinated individuals to secure their digital vaccination certificates.

“VaxCertPH is an important tool for the issuance of digital vaccination certificates for those who have already completed their Covid-19 doses in the country. LGUs should, therefore, ensure that they input accurate data to the VIMS within 24 hours from vaccination,” DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said in a media release Saturday.

He said the digital certificates to be issued under VaxCertPH will serve as proof for Filipinos and non-Filipinos who were vaccinated in the Philippines who plan to travel outside the country or return from overseas, addressing the need for countries that may require a vaccine certification issued by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) upon entry.

Currently on soft-launch, VaxCertPH is initially available only to overseas Filipino workers and foreign travelers in Metro Manila. It will be launched nationwide after the NCR pilot period.

Some 20.9 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated with a Covid 19 vaccine which corresponds to 27.1 percent of the country’s eligible population. In the NCR, 5.1 million have been fully vaccinated which is 52.37 percent of the region’s eligible population while 8,261,461 (85.50 percent) have received at least one dose.

Developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the DOH, VaxCertPH is a “self-service web portal” that utilizes the vaccination data submitted by LGUs through the VIMS. It has a request and creation feature of the Covid-19 Digital Vaccination Certificate; generates a QR (Quick Response) code that authenticates the certificate; and it has a request feature where clients can request for updating of records if there is incorrect vaccination details or missing information.

Año said VaxCertPH complies with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization on the Digital Documentation of Covid-19 Certificate.

He said under the program, LGUs should recognize and implement the VaxCertPH as the official proof of vaccination for local travels and assign or designate an LGU coordinator to answer inquiries and resolve record-related issues of vaccinations.

The DILG earlier issued Memorandum Circular No. 2021-095, enjoining local chief executives, DILG Regional Directors, and the Minister for the Local Government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to actively participate and support the training by the DICT about VaxCertPH.

Under Republic Act (RA) No. 11525, otherwise known as the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, the DOH is tasked to issue Covid-19 vaccine cards to all persons who have gotten inoculated.

The DICT, in coordination with the DOH and DILG, was tasked to form a digital process that would certify that a person has been vaccinated in the country. (PR)