ISLAMABAD: While Covid-19 vaccination card is going to become a travel document, over 29,000 people so far vaccinated in the federal capital have not been issued the cards.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia agreed that the vaccination card would be a travel document in the near future and claimed that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) would soon introduce a portal to download the vaccination card.

It is worth mentioning that provinces, including Sindh and Punjab, have been issuing cards to people who are being vaccinated against Covid-19. The card issued in hospitals of Rawalpindi carries the person’s name, vaccine, its batch number and the date of vaccination.

Similarly, cards are being issued in Sindh making it possible for the holders to prove that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

NCOC to launch portal to assist citizens in downloading vaccination cards, says official

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Department of Home and Prisons on March 20 issued a notification (available with Dawn) stating that as per advisory of the health department only tourists carrying a Covid-19 negative certificate shall be allowed to enter GB.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia is considering declaring the Covid-19 vaccination a must for Umrah and Haj pilgrims. In the near future, vaccination cards will be mandatory for international travel just like the polio vaccination card is essential for travelers from Pakistan.

Mohammad Naeem, a resident of Islamabad, said Covid-19 vaccination cards were not being issued in the federal capital.

“I went to a vaccination centre at the CDA Hospital for vaccination of my cousin and on the first shot they gave us a piece of paper on which instructions regarding the shots were mentioned. When we went for the second shot, the hospital staff asked about the name and CNIC number and other details of my cousin and wrote it on a paper. I was expecting that a certificate would be issued but they kept the paper and told us to leave after giving the shot and waiting for half an hour,” he said.

“I don’t know if we will get the vaccination card just like people in Rawalpindi and other parts of the country have been issued after vaccination,” he said.

According to a document, 29,558 healthcare workers and senior citizens have so far been vaccinated at the 15 adult vaccination centres in the federal capital.

When contacted, Dr Zia told Dawn that there were issues such as unavailability of printed cards and an authority to sign thousands of cards.

“During the recent meeting of the NCOC, it was suggested that a portal will be made available on the website of the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) from where people could download the vaccination card by just entering their CNIC number,” he said.

“As it has been principally agreed that the portal will be made available, people who have been vaccinated will soon be able to download their cards,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2021