Digital vaccination card

You will have heard that the National Department of Health (NDoH) launched the first phase of the digital vaccination certificates this month. You can download or access yours on https://vaccine.certificate.health.gov.za if you are fully vaccinated. You will need the personal details you provided when you registered for your vaccine, as well as one of the vaccination codes that you received from the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) via SMS. If you don't have this code anymore you should find it on your handwritten vaccination card which you received when you were vaccinated. If you don't have this either, contact the hotline on 0800 029 999.

Don't worry if the QR code on the certificate doesn't make sense to you. It is not intended to be decoded by the public. Relevant entities who will need to be able to read it will get the necessary technology to be able to decipher the QR code. However, if any of your details are incorrect on the certificate, please call the hotline on 0800 029 999 to get them corrected. The Minister of Health stated during a press briefing last month that we can expect further development of the certificate, e.g. regarding safety and security during the next couple of weeks.

The details of how and where exactly we will be able to use the NDoH's digital vaccination cards are yet to be established. The South African government is currently in talks with other governments to reach an agreement on the acceptance of this certificate internationally to assist when travelling.

Even before the national digital vaccination card was launched, Discovery Health had rolled out their version of a digital vaccination card, accessible on the Discovery Vaccination Navigator. You can access it on www.angloms.co.za > select Covid-19 vaccines > then access the Vaccination Card in the Covid-19 vaccination navigator.

This certificate displays information about your vaccination and claims received. As Discovery's system is not synchronised with EVDS, there might still be some gaps, i.e. claims and vaccination information that have not been submitted on the DH system yet. In some instances, it could mean that it might not show a second dose received or even shows that you are not yet vaccinated if you, for example, obtained your vaccination at a state facility who have not claimed for the vaccines as yet.

Please be aware that Discovery's digital vaccination card is not accepted for travel purposes, not endorsed by the Department of Health, nor is it intended to replace the paper or digital vaccination card of the NDoH.

For travel purposes, always contact the embassy or consult with travel advisories or your travel agent for the most up-to-date, accepted travel documentation requirements.

Published: October 2021.