GUYANA will later this week sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India that will see the Guyana accessing the COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network (COWIN) software, to produce electronic vaccination cards.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, made the disclosure on Wednesday during the COVID-19 update.

The new electronic type vaccination cards will curb the forging of vaccination documents.

“During this week, we’ll be signing off the Memorandum of Understanding, which will allow us to now get the COWIN software. Once we get that COVID software, that’s going to be what we will be using. So, we will migrate the electronic data that we have into that software, and then we’ll be able to produce the new cards that people would have,” he said.

The minister said the manual registers of vaccine distribution and vaccination booklets are currently being converted into digital format.

“We have recruited staff for that purpose. We have designated special areas where we are doing all that, with the equipment and so forth, to make sure that that is happening. So that is an ongoing process,” the minister noted.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony said it is still important for persons to keep their current vaccination cards, as the COVID-19 measures stipulate that persons must produce those cards to transact business at government ministries and agencies.

Persons who operate public transport must also produce their cards if asked by a police officer, or by anyone working on behalf of the Ministry of Health. (DPI)