Online vaccine registration portal for South Africa launches

Government has announced the launch of the Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS), which will act as a “complete vaccination health information system” for South Africa.

The portal is currently open for the self-registration of healthcare workers. These workers qualify for phase one of the vaccine rollout.

Government plans to use the system as a means of registration and certification.

At its launch on Wednesday, 3 February, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize explained the role the self-registration portal will play in vaccine rollout.

It will work in tandem with other systems and solutions to capture vaccination records.

“The system can capture the relevant metrics of all South Africans that will be vaccinated; ensure vaccinees are contactable and alerted to optimize adherence to the regimen; and complete the certification process such that vaccine certificates are easy to obtain for vaccinees and authorities that may require the certification,” Mkhize said.

According to the minister, 34 000 healthcare workers have already registered on the system.

All healthcare workers, including those in the public and private sector, as well as clinical and non-clinical settings, will be able to register.

The system will then verify the healthcare worker’s status using employer or persal records.

If a healthcare worker cannot register online, they can register at a vaccination site in person.

However, the online system aims to provide a way to speed up registration and data processing. Registering online also helps predict the number of vaccine allocations needed for certain areas.

How to use the EVDS online vaccine registration site

Currently, only healthcare workers should register on the site.

According to Mkhize, it only takes two minutes to complete the registration.

Technically, people who aren’t healthcare workers can attempt to sign up. But the registration won’t receive verification.

In phase one, government will only prioritise verified healthcare workers for vaccination.

As such, government has asked that only those who qualify register on the portal.

If you qualify, you can register for the vaccine on the vaccine.enroll.health.za website.

When registering, you can use your ID or passport to verify your identity.

Feature image: Screenshot

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