Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Hong Kong does not accept the vaccination cards issued in the Philippines.
“Our vaccination cards are not accepted in Hong Kong because they are not connected to a single source. Poor OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) going to their jobs in Hong Kong even if jabbed,” Locsin said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje earlier said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Bureau of Quarantine are working to generate a digitized vaccination card.
She said digitized vaccination cards could be issued by the end of August or in September.
The Philippine government had coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO) for the COVID-19 vaccination international verification system guidelines.
In February, Senator Grace Poe filed Senate Bill 1994 or the proposed “Vaccine Passport Act,” which urges the government to create policies for proper recording of the vaccine administration.
“Parang talaan ito kung saan dapat nakalagay kung anong bakuna ang binigay sa inyo at kailan, at sino ang nagbigay,” she said.
Hong Kong not accepting Philippine vaccination cards
“Mahalaga ito sa maraming iba’t ibang uri ng negosyo, para alam natin na ligtas tayo kapag tayo ay pumunta sa isang restaurant, o kaya kapag meron isang food facility na nagha-handle halimbawa ng pagkain, gusto natin na ligtas ang ating pakiramdam,” she added.
Poe said she already reminded Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to create policies and procedures on how to record the vaccination of Filipinos before the Vaccine Passport Act is approved.
Vaccine Passport Act states that the vaccine record will contain the types and purposes of vaccines received by the holder, the batch numbers the vaccines belong to, dates administered, and the persons and institutions that administered the inoculation.
Collection of fees for the issuance, amendment, or replacement of a vaccine passport, as well as penalties for possessing more than one vaccine passport, falsification, and forgery is also prohibited under the bill.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.