Vaccination certificates system, not yet officially functional
This as the department is aware that ‘a few lucky’ individuals managed to access the system and download their vaccination certificates.
The Department of Health asked South Africans to be patient as it prepares the official launch of the Covid-19 vaccination digital download certificates system.
This came after the department was overwhelmed by public and media enquiries over the problems they faced when trying to download and access the certificates.
“The system is not yet officially functional in a live environment which will enable vaccinated individuals to access and download certificates,” said National Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale.
Mohale said the department was currently at the testing phase of the system to troubleshoot all possible glitches ahead of the official launch later this week.
“We had to build a lot of security into the system to protect individuals’ personal data as much as possible.”
He said the development and release of the fully-fledged Covid-19 vaccination certificates would be phased in over time.
Mohale said the department was aware that “a few lucky” individuals managed to access the system and download their vaccination certificates.
This follows after over 17 million vaccine doses were administered in South Africa since the launch of the government’s vaccination drive.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the drive has been picking up speed.
“Over 8.6 million people are fully vaccinated, which is more than one-fifth of the adult population.
“Significantly, 60% of South Africans over the age of 60, and 50% of people between the ages of 50 and 59 have now received at least one vaccine dose.
“These numbers give us confidence and hope.”
Ramaphosa said the government was hoping to vaccinate 70% of the adult population in South Africa by the end of the year.
“To reach our goal we need to administer an additional 16 million vaccine doses this year, which amounts to around 250 000 first dose vaccinations every single workday of every week until mid-December.”
He said further the streamlining and standardising of proof of vaccination would also go a long way towards easing several international travel restrictions both from and into South Africa.
“If the majority of our population is vaccinated, we can declare South Africa to be a safe destination and welcome tourists back over the summer season,” Ramaphosa said.
He said activities such as sporting events and concerts could resume, while lifting restrictions on restaurants and bars, and encourage people to return safely to their workplaces, shops and public spaces.
“If we can reach our vaccination targets by the end of this year, we can avoid further restrictions and kick our economic recovery into high gear.”
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