COVID-19: WHO races to develop vaccination card

As countries start to develop their own vaccination passports, the WHO is racing to develop a framework for corona vaccination certificates that can be used worldwide to ensure standards are met.

As countries start to develop their own vaccination passports, the WHO is racing to develop a framework for corona vaccination certificates that can be used worldwide to ensure standards are met.

When Dr Integrity Mchechesi visited a bus terminal in Zimbabwe's capital city Harare, people were calling out, asking if anyone needed a negative COVID-19 test certificate.

Such COVID-19 test certificates can be bought for as little as 10 US dollars, or roughly 50 dollars less than an actual COVID test, in Harare, said Mchechesi, a doctor and co-founder of Vaxiglobal, a health-tech start-up focused on immunization verification in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is one of a number of countries working on digital solutions to verify who has been vaccinated. Countries like Denmark, Spain and Greece have supported the idea of COVID-19 vaccination passports, and the WHO is working on an international digital vaccination card that will provide a framework with standards for countries to adhere to.

At the bus terminals in Harare, Mchechesi was researching falsified vaccination certificates. In a survey of yellow fever vaccination certificates, Vaxiglobal found that more than 80 percent of those used at some bus terminals in Harare were falsified.

"We thought that [was] really concerning," said Mchechesi. "It's not like there is any policing that's done, it's actually sold freely."

Focus turns to COVID-19

Now Vaxiglobal has shifted its attention to verifying COVID-19 test certificates. The organization is working with the Zimbabwean health ministry to

Dr Integrity Mchechesi, co-founder of Vaxiglobal