FAKE CARD FEAR

Fijians who are attempting to make fake vaccination cards will be prosecuted.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong yesterday said there were instances where fake vaccination card had been used which had prompted Government to create a digital platform for vaccination cards.

Dr James Fong said they have seen a few Fijians doing this due to the “No Jab, No Job” rule.

Head of Fiji’s COVID-19 vaccination taskforce Dr Rachel Devi said they were working with digitalFIJI to tackle this issue.

“We don’t want anyone doing fake vaccination cards and it is alarming that people have resorted to such practice,” Dr Devi said.

“We do not encourage people to do this because they are compromising their lives.”

Meanwhile, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum during his national budget announcement last week said they were developing secure “vaccine passports”, which are essentially digital vaccination certificates.

“This digital tool will be available in two forms – a personalised ‘digital wallet’ whereby Fijians can have their vaccination and COVID-19 test information right on their smartphones or paper printed with readable parts such as barcodes or QR codes,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“We’re calling these passports ––which usually you only need to travel internationally. But these digital certificates will have domestic and international applications.

“We know to expect some rule-breakers seeking to fabricate vaccine cards, just as we know to expect abusers of government assistance programmes. To protect against fraud, an individual’s biometric information of a person will be captured to form the basis of identity authentication in addition to the birth records and photo ID.

“The vaccination and COVID-19 test results will be linked to a confirmed identity, making it very hard to cheat the system. If you try, and you are caught, there will be serious consequences. We will guard the credibility of these passports zealously.