By Kris Crismundo
MANILA – Fully vaccinated individuals should keep their vaccination cards as the government prepares a digital identification system to verify the COVID-19 vaccination status of an individual.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Department of Information and Communications Technology is expected to launch the digital vaccine ID within a month.
“I think in a few weeks, around one month, we will complete this digital card, and hopefully a QR code system also system wherein the vaccine ID will be centralized and consolidated and in digital form,” Lopez said in a Laging Handa public briefing Friday.
This, as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) now allows fully vaccinated individuals aged 65 years old and above to go outside their residences.
Lopez said the vaccine card will serve as proof for individuals in the said age group that they have already completed their COVID-19 vaccine so that they will be allowed to enter establishments.
Individuals aged 65 years old and above are not allowed to go outside their residences as they have the highest risk to develop severe COVID-19.
Lopez added that the IATF already approved the principle of allowing non-authorized persons outside residences (APORs) to go outside their houses two weeks after they completed the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We believe in the vaccine, but we should also believe in the vaccinated,” Lopez said.
With this development, the DTI chief is optimistic that the country’s economic recovery will continue as well as operations of establishments in the economic sector.
“Hopefully, we can get back to our growth momentum prior to the pandemic,” Lopez said. (PNA) -rir
