December 20 roll-out of electronic vaccination cards
Government lifts Omicron travel ban on African states
Published:Thursday | December 16, 2021 | 7:15 AM
Christopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Effective Monday, December 20, persons who have received the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to download their vaccination verification cards from the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ website to show proof that they have taken the jab.
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton made the announcement during a media briefing late Wednesday during which he said that the downloadable digital feature would bring Jamaica in line with global COVID-19 vaccination standards.
The card will have a special feature called a quick-response code to enable the information to be validated, said Tufton.
The electronic card will be accepted by international airlines and governments across the globe, he said.
The minister also announced that plans are in place to import 150,000 COVID home-testing kits for distribution to the general population, with stakeholder discussions to be held thereafter as to the method of distribution.
However, he did not give a timeline on when the kits would arrive in Jamaica.
“We have taken a critical look at these new tests on the market, and we would like to promote the use of hom- test kits in a particular context, and along particular protocols,” Tufton said.
The test kits for importation will have World Health Organisation or Food and Drug Administration approval, he added.
Tufton stressed, however, that the home-test kits would not obviate the need for persons to visit their doctors if they suspect that they may have COVID-19.
To date, Jamaica has recorded 91,868 COVID-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. There have been 2,432 virus-related deaths.
More than 1.17 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered locally as at Wednesday evening. Of that number, 626,669 have been first doses and 471,222 have been second shots. There have been 73,662 single-dose Johnson & Johnson shots.
Jamaica currently has 1,111,835 COVID-19 vaccine doses in stock: Pfizer (396,630); AstraZeneca (386,100); Johnson & Johnson (130,635); and Sinopharm (198,470).
Meanwhile, the Government has lifted travel restrictions on several African countries that had reported cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The banned countries were Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
The variant is now in more than 70 countries.
“The travel ban on any particular jurisdiction is just not practical unless you want to totally shut out the rest of the world,” Tufton said.