Online registration for children below the age of 18 to receive COVID-19 vaccine opens today.
This is after the Ministry of Health and Medical Services announced the next phase of the National Vaccination Drive, for the age category of 15-17 years of age.
Attorney-General and Minister for Communications, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has urged parents and guardians to use the online COVID-19 Vaccination Registry System to minimise hassle and to save time.
“The process for digital registration of under-18s is similar to the adult registration with one important change: now that parental or guardian consent is required, the team at the Ministry of Communications have added a function to digitally register consent,” the A-G said.
Digital registration requires a correct Birth Registration Number or Citizenship Number or Permit Number of a parent or guardian to be entered with a correlating Date of Birth.
Once the above details are correctly filled in, a form is generated which contains pre-filled information and critical questions regarding the child such as the BRN and Date of Birth, medical and education details has to be accurately filled out to submit the registration.
The A-G has assured the confidentiality of the data acquired as the Ministry of Communications online registration system has been “built on a privacy and security by design principle, which means the protection and privacy of information has been embedded into the design of the system from the very beginning”.
As children are involved, he added, maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the vaccination registration information has become more paramount.
Additionally, registration at the vaccination sites will also be available. "To effect registration, the Ministry of Health vaccination teams will need the birth registration number of both the parent or guardian and the child that is to be registered," said the A-G.
The birth registration number is found on the birth certificate which can be obtained free of charge from the various BDM offices. It is important that the birth certificates and valid photo ID of the parent or guardian are shown to the officers for a seamless onsite registration.
"We are adding a new category for those below the age of 18 to participate in the Win Together Sweepstakes draw. Any person below the age of 18 who receives the vaccine can participate in this category but only with the consent of the parent or guardian. The consent can be given during the online registration or at the vaccination site," the A-G said.
Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to register online before visiting the designated vaccination sites and the registration portal is now available and can be accessed on
https://vra.digitalfiji.gov.fj/
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