Glitches with downloading the COVID-19 vaccine certificate – an easier gateway to travel – have seen frustrated people desperately troubleshooting to decipher ways to beat the system.
Among the theories being touted in the case of residence permits is simply substituting the MT before the document number with a ‘magical’ 7. Many have claimed it does the trick.
Karen Houston said she had been trying to download her vaccine certificate with no luck for weeks on end. Picking up on one of the online comments on Times of Malta, she proceeded to exchange the MT for the number 7.
“And hey presto, it works!”
The news of the miraculous number 7 was spread by Toni Borg, whose wife holds a Maltese residency card and had issues downloading her certificate… until she was informed by Servizz.gov about the minor change.
Passing on the ‘solution’ through Times of Malta to the delight of many, he asked: “How is one supposed to know that?”
“I cannot believe I had to learn this and solve my problem from the comments section of Times of Malta,” said one reader.
“I tried it and it worked,” she exclaimed, while others hailed Borg a “hero” for helping resolve the dilemma.
In a bid to help readers in the same predicament, Juan Buhagiar also shared his own experience, saying he too had problems downloading the vaccine certificate, with the risk of being stuck in Amsterdam.
Following “pointless” calls to 145 and e-mails, as well as hours staring at his computer screen, Buhagiar claims he tried entering the date of his last jab a day later than it actually happened – and it actually worked.
Failure to download the vaccine certificate has disrupted people’s travel plans
Some of his friends experienced the same thing, he said, passing on the tip to trump the problem.
What is causing vaccine certificate technical problems?
The health ministry had addressed the issue by vaguely stating that “in some cases, verification of data supplied needs to occur to ensure that all information related to the vaccine brand, dates and batch number are correct”.
It ensured that the process was being handled by a dedicated team, but others have spelt out the malfunction in no uncertain terms, pointing to problems with the database.
People who claim they are no strangers to IT systems have suggested that the problem is with the inputting of data in the main database of the vaccination programme.
“No matter what level of IT skills you possess, if the data in the system is wrong, or missing, you will never ever get good information out,” proffered Alan Zelt, referring to the computer science acronym GIGO – garbage in, garbage out.
After two weeks of information from 145 and Servizz.gov, Zelt informed the authorities that the problem was from their end, saying it was “confirmed” that the data on the second jab from many people had not been entered.
In his case, the matter was immediately corrected, he said.
But the enigma remains unresolved for others, who have been advised that the waiting list is “interminable” and not to expect results soon.
Failure to download the vaccine certificate – considered the passport to a new post-COVID life – has disrupted people’s travel plans and many have realised they are not alone.
The Maltese certificate is the only vaccine certificate currently recognised on the island so travellers cannot use other countries' vaccine certificates to gain entry.
But work to integrate the system with the EU-wide one by July 1 was progressing well, according to the health authorities, even though Malta’s was currently in a “test phase”, according to the EU.
Correction: An earlier version of this article suggested Malta’s certificate cannot be used as proof of vaccination when travelling overseas. In fact, some countries do recognise it, depending on their individual entry requirements.