In the past week, you may have come across an official-looking link from the department of health offering vaccine certificates called the Covid-19 Vaccine Certificate System portal. These are akin to vaccine passports used in some other countries that allow fully vaccinated citizens the freedom to travel and access certain public amenities.

In September we got word that the health ministry has approved digital vaccine certificates for people in the country. Now, the digital portal is being tested in a public trial to iron out any issues it may come across when it launches in a more official way. Many South Africans have already used the portal that’s available to get their hands on their digital certificates.

Finally, a certificate we qualify for

But some may have run into issues when using the portal — one Stuff journalist, for example, couldn’t complete the verification process due to a ‘System Error’, even though all the information entered was correct.

That’s why things are tested, we’re guessing. When it functions as intended, the system will allow users to create a QR code that’ll display their Covid-19 inoculation status. It’ll be available to all fully vaccinated adults in the country, so you’ll need either that second Phizer jab or the 1-shot Johnson & Johnson steek.

“Thus, the system is not yet officially functional in a live environment which will enable vaccinated members of the public to access and download certificates. We had to build a lot of security into the system to protect individuals` personal data as much as possible. The development and release of fully-fledged COVID-19 vaccination certificates will be phased-in over time,” the department explained.

It’s understandable, as the portal is expected to adhere to basic security practices while dealing with sensitive information supplied by our country’s humans. And only humans. That ‘Are you a robot’ tickbox is there for a reason.