Overview
With the emergence of a new Corona virus variant, Omicron, the Philippines and the entire world were brought again to another year of crisis in battling the pandemic. Despite the efforts made by the government to lessen the number of people getting caught up by the virus, the statics shows an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections at the first month of year 2022. This sudden increase could be rooted from the activities of the Filipinos during the holiday events in the Philippines. Because of this increasing number of infections, the authorities have again implemented lockdown to areas which are greatly affected by the infection. While other establishments and places are now requiring people to show proof of their vaccination thru vaccination card or vaccination certificate.
In line with this, the Department of Health (DOH) together with Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) had launched the VaxCert portal where Filipinos can download a digital copy of their vaccination certificate.
What Is Vaccination Certificate?
Vaccination certificate is similar to your vaccination card however, this certificate is more credible than your card as it contains your certificate ID and a QR code which can be used to validate its authenticity thru online by simply scanning it. Speaking about credibility, this certificate complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) Digital documentation of COVID-19 certificates (DDCC) guidelines. The vaccination certificate is computer generated while the vaccination card is hand written thus can be easily altered and falsified. This vaccination certificate available to anyone who has completed their dose of vaccination as mandated by Republic Act 11525. If you are an OFW or planning to travel abroad, you will be required to obtain your vaccination certificate. Some LGU’s are also requiring this for issuance of S-Pass, Swift and Smart Passage Travel Management system for inbound travelers.
Here’s the step-by-step procedure on how to download your vaccination certificate:
How To Download Your COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate
Step 1
First is to visit the DOH’s Philippine Digital Vaccination Certificate portal here. Once in the portal, just click the CONTINUE button.
Step 2
On the Review Data Privacy page, just tick the box for Privacy Statement provided that you have read and understand them. Then click the CONTINUE button.
Step 3
Then on the succeeding page, just click the drop down menu “Were you vaccinated more than 48 hours ago for any of your doses?” to confirm your vaccination status. On the pop-up message, just tick the Yes option and click OK button. Once you get back to the previous page, just click the NEXT button.
Step 4
On the next page, just input all the personal information being asked then click the NEXT button.
Step 5
On the Vaccination Details page, select the City/Municipality where your 1st & 2nd dose were administered to you including the date. Then click the VERIFY VACCINATION INFORMATION button. (If your vaccine brand is Johnson & Johnson, don’t forget to tick the corresponding box next to it)
Step 6
On the succeeding page, review all your personal information and vaccination details before the system verify and find your record. If all info are correct, just click CONTINUE button..
Step 7
For security purposes, type the 7 characters in the space provided as shown in your screen then click OK button.
Step 8
Once your record is found with matching details, your vaccination certificate is now available for download. Just click the GENERATE VACCINATION CERTIFICATE button to proceed. (If you will use this certificate for travel purposes, just tick the corresponding box and input your Passport Number on the space provided)
Step 9
To download your vaccination certificate, just click the DOWNLOAD VACCINATION CERTIFICATE button as shown below.
Step 10
And Voila! You have now your COVID-19 vaccination certificate. You can secure a copy of it for future use by taking a screen shot or saving the downloaded pdf file in your phone or computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if there are incorrect details or no record was found for some doses?
Just submit an update record request by clicking the UPDATE RECORD button under step 8.
What if there was no record found at all?
No record could mean any of these two:
1. Your inputs did not match the record in their database. Kindly go back to previous step and repeat the process by inputting your correct details.
2. Your LGU has not yet uploaded your vaccination record. The rate at how vaccination records are uploaded to database depends on different LGUs which may be limited due to scope of work, area and access to resources. To confirm your record, you can coordinate with your LGU where you received your vaccination if your record still cannot be found for more than 1-3 months from your last dose of vaccination.
Final Thought
My first and second dose of vaccine were administered to me on November 2021. A month later when I accessed this vaccination certificate portal, I was able to download my own certificate. However, there are some people known to me whose certificate were not yet available or with missing record of dose. Maybe this portal is not yet fully operational as other LGUs may haven’t yet uploaded all the vaccination records of their vaccine recipients.
I was residing in Calamba Laguna and after 5 or more months until now, they haven’t informed me yet nor contacted me in any means about the status of my registration for vaccination from them. Out of my frustration, I decided to reach the nearest LGU which is Sto. Tomas Batangas for vaccination. Luckily, our walk-in was entertained and we got Moderna Vaccine. Then a month & a couple of weeks later after my 2nd dose, my vaccination certificate is now available. I’m really grateful with how fast the LGU of Sto. Tomas act during this period of pandemic. Kudos to this great city and to all facilitators of those vaccination!
Now that you have your own vaccination certificate, please use it responsibly. Though it may give us the privilege such as travel and entry pass, it would still be safer to limit our movement within the extent of our basic necessities to alleviate the situation of ongoing pandemic.
Always keep safe mga Kabutingting!!!
Hw about for an OFW?,,, Vaccination done abroad for the 1st n 2nd jab, but booster in local LGUs,,, what are the procedures for such.
Hi Joy Siapno, thanks for asking. Regarding your vaccination certificate, you can get it from the same country where you got your vaccination. They should have the same portal where you can download your vaccination certificate similar to Vaxcert portal of DOH Philippines. This vaccination certificates per country are all mandated by WHO so it should be recognized by any other country. By the way which country did you get your vaccine?