The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the quest to check the authenticity of the vaccination card of travelers, has set up a verification point at the Kotoka International Airport.
The Service in a presser disclosed that it has officially mounted a desk at the Airport to aid various travelers verify their vaccination status to ensure a smooth travelling process.
This move by the Service follows the inability of some vaccinated individuals, especially those travelling out of the country, to verify their proof of vaccination using the Barcode (QR code) on their various vaccination cards given, after the vaccination exercise.
The GHS disclosed that after noticing the problem, it had to provide a solution to ease travelers stress at the airport.
“In the interim, a desk has been set up at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for verification of vaccination status for travelers. Fully vaccinated outbound travelers (i.e., received two doses of AstraZeneca or Sputnik-V vaccine) departing from KIA should contact the Vaccination Verification Desk of the Port Health Unit at the Departure Hall of KIA to verify their vaccination status prior to departure.”
GHS
GHS updating vaccination records
According to the GHS, as part of efforts to address the ongoing challenge also, it’s updating records of all fully vaccinated individuals to ease verification.
The Ghana Health Service said other fully vaccinated individuals desirous of verifying their vaccination status should visit the nearest health facility or District Health Directorate for assistance.
Explaining the reason for the process, the Ghana Health Service posited that the validation forms part of measures to ensure quality vaccination data.
“The Ghana Health Service, as part of COVID-19 vaccination data quality assurance process, instituted a system of data validation for individuals fully vaccinated against the COVID-19. The process includes placement of a registered metallic peel (hologram with security features) on the vaccination card as proof of full vaccination and a barcode to check verification status.”
The past few days has seen various travelers complain about the services at the Airport with regards to vaccination verification and the test regime as well.
The travelers are of the view that the procedure is not authentic as some who have tested positive from their origin countries test negative upon arrival.
For Ghanian citizens, the procedure to check how valid the vaccination card is has become a hurdle rather than a smooth process. This was part of measures by the government step up protocols to prevent the importation and the exportation of the virus.
Ghana land borders, likely to open
Meanwhile, Ghana is in the coming weeks is likely to open its land borders depending on the effectiveness of a new testing regime.
Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, a former Deputy Minister of Health, who hinted this said, the COVID test board, chaired by President Akufo-Addo has approved the use of other antigen technology at some of the borders so that at least the drivers of these cargoes can be subjected to tests.
“Now, based on the experiment [and] how the testing goes, we might consider opening the borders with that technology or with that testing in place.”
Dr. Okoe Boye
