Cosatu wary of fraudulent Covid-19 vaccine certificates

Cosatu says it remains sceptical about government’s introduction of Covid-19 vaccination certificates, saying more clarity is required about how the proposed system will be safeguarded from abuse, fraud and corruption.

Reacting to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Thursday evening moving the country to alert level 1 lockdown, the trade union federation said while it was “deeply concerned” at the decrease in daily vaccination rates, government should explain how the vaccine certificates would be made widely available to people in rural areas and those without access to the internet.

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Cosatu’s national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said they don’t want a situation where people end up buying vaccine certificates, leading to questions being raised about the integrity of South Africa’s entire vaccine programme.

“This will defeat the very purpose of persuading and mobilising people to vaccinate,” Pamla said in a statement.

The ANC’s alliance partner said government should rather focus on persuading hesitant citizens to get vaccinated before rolling out the vaccine certificates.

Cosatu said in order for South Africa to reach its target of inoculating 70% of the adult population by the end of the year, it should ramp up efforts to engage, educate and address the concerns of those who are hesitant to vaccinate with.

The federation said this should be done with the help of civil society, educational institutions, the religious sector and businesses, among other role players.

“We need to take vaccines to the people, to townships, informal areas, universities, taxi ranks, shopping centres, farms, villages, rural areas, churches and mosques etc,” Pamla said.

Vaccines for teens and booster shots

Cosatu also said government should explore vaccinating adolescents over the age of 12 and provide booster shots for healthcare workers and vulnerable groups. The federation says this is critical to saving lives and livelihoods and to enable the economy to recover and rebuild.   

“Additional measures to boost vaccine demand are needed and these should include opening vaccinations to persons over 12 years of age, providing booster shots for health workers and those over 60 years of age or with co-morbidities. 

“It should also include incentives and rewards that some businesses are now providing.”

Proof of vaccination

In his televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said the Department of Health would soon be rolling out vaccination certificates, which would provide secure and verifiable proof of vaccination. 

He said the certificates could be used for travel, access to establishments and gatherings, and other forms of activity that require proof of vaccination status. 

“Our approach is informed by World Health Organization guidelines and is in line with international best practice.
 
“Streamlining and standardising proof of vaccination will also go a long way towards getting a number of international travel restrictions both from and into our country eased,” the president said.

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