The Health Ministry has started the process of digitizing COVID-19 records, which is expected to enhance vaccination verification of those who claim to have been inoculated.
During the Covid-19 update on Wednesday, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony revealed that the ministry has already hired staff who are inputting the data into computers.
He added that the government is also working with the Indian Government to get the CoWin software implemented. This mechanism will help the ministry to input, process and save data relevant to vaccination. “Those discussions have not been concluded as yet, but it’s ongoing and we are hopeful that once those discussions conclude that we would be able to get the software right… We have digitised the records but we now have to import it into the software so that you know you can have easy reference and so forth,” Dr. Anthony said.
The Minister’s disclosure comes on the heels of three medical workers charged yesterday for allegedly forging vaccination books. Other persons have also been charged in the past.
The Minister is hopeful that once the database is established, places such as the airports can verify the authenticity of a person’s vaccination status.
As such, Minister Anthony is also appealing to persons who may have information of the purchasers of fake vaccination cards to report to the Guyana Police Force with the names of those individuals to crack down on the corruption.
Apart from the illegality of purchasing a vaccination card, Minister Anthony said the purchasers also pose a health threat to the vaccinated population.
