Citizens will subsequently receive a vaccination certificate

The Ministry of Health claims that the document that citizens receive after vaccination is not a confirmation, but rather a form that serves as a reminder for the second dose and help in case the patient develops an adverse event after immunization that he wishes to report, for which information on the date of immunization is required , type and series of vaccines, which often older people do not know.

"So, the form they receive is not an international vaccination certificate", the department headed by Jelena Borovinić Bojović told "Vijesta" and added that the international certificate will be available in health centers.

"After vaccination, all data on patients and vaccinations are entered into the electronic immunization register. For vaccinations carried out in the field - at home and in homes for the elderly, as well as in health institutions that are not connected to the health information system and do not have access to the electronic register, immunization records are kept in "paper" protocols, and the data are stored in the information system upon return to the outpatient clinic - health care facility.

The international certificate of vaccination will be automatically generated in the health information system and it will be possible to obtain it in all clinics of health centers by directly viewing the patient's electronic record", the Ministry's reply reads.

From this department, they said that the reason for the delay in the application of the international certificate lies in the fact that the Health Safety Committee of the European Commission only last week defined the minimum set of data that these certificates ("green certificates") should contain.

"In accordance with the recommendations of the Committee, a proposal for a bilingual certificate was prepared, which will be in use. In accordance with established good international practice, the specimen certificate will be delivered to all accredited foreign diplomatic missions in Montenegro so that the authorities of those countries are familiar with the appearance of the national certificate, which will greatly facilitate its international applicability and additionally facilitate and enable the movement of our vaccinated citizens in international traffic ", the Ministry pointed out.

They said that the certificate will be available in electronic form through the eZdravlje portal and that it will contain all the necessary elements that will make it safer.

"The paper form should also contain certain elements (QR) that will make the electronic confirmation more accessible and further improve the user experience of digital services in healthcare, which are currently being developed," the Ministry pointed out.

The non-governmental organization Center for Civic Education (CGO) previously criticized the appearance and content of the certificate, demanding responsibility from the Ministry of Health because the document received after vaccination is not aligned with the National Strategy.

"Despite the fact that the entire vaccination process is disorganized and with a lot of shortcomings, which we warned about earlier, we appreciate that this subsequent adaptation of the vaccination certificate only contributes to the irresponsible and unprofessional approach of the Ministry of Health. It's high time for the ministry to start applying at least part of the vaccination standards that are available to the citizens of the region, and not to wait for the European Commission's Health Safety Committee to create a certificate matrix, when there are clear guidelines on what an internationally valid vaccination certificate should look like. , pointed out the Coordinator of the Human Rights Program at CGO Tamara Milaš.

She recalled that one of the first publicly presented documents of the new leadership of the Ministry of Health was the National Strategy for the Introduction, Distribution and Application of COVID-19 Vaccines in Montenegro in January of this year, which clearly defined the procedure for issuing valid vaccination certificates.

"So, for almost three months since then, they have not been able to adapt the system and connect it with health institutions in order to issue certificates that are valid when accessing certain health services and services and fulfilling other needs and requirements - education, travel, and the like," she said. is Milas.

She said that today we have several thousand people who have been revaccinated and who do not have the possibility to travel to other countries without restrictions because there is no possibility to provide them with a bilingual confirmation with a QR (Quick response) code that would allow monitoring of immunization data, and which is not an IT-technically demanding task.

Vaccination of people over 65 without an appointment

Citizens over the age of 65 can be vaccinated against the coronavirus in all health centers in Montenegro, every day, without prior appointment, the Ministry of Health announced.

The government department said that the order, which has already entered into force, was issued by the Minister of Health, Jelena Borovinić Bojović.

Citizens over the age of 65 will be able to get vaccinated on Sundays, from 20:XNUMX a.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., and they should bring their health card.

It is noted that citizens living in Podgorica can be vaccinated at points in the Sports Center "Morača" or at the Music Center, while in other cities vaccination will be carried out at existing points.

The Ministry adds that citizens should only bring a health card.

Ten people infected with the coronavirus have died, and 333 new cases of infection have been registered, the Institute for Public Health (IJZ) announced.

There are 546 patients undergoing hospital treatment.

21.195 citizens received the first dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus, while 3.808 were revaccinated.

They are opening schools in 14 municipalities

Public and private educational institutions will be opened in 14 municipalities next week, while ninth-grade students in all cities will attend classes at school, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports announced.

Due to over 800 patients per 100.000 inhabitants, schools in Kolašin and Andrijevica are switching to the online model.

They said that schools will be open next week in Plav, Gusinje, Petnjica, Herceg Novi, Žabljak, Tivat, Kotor, Plužine, Budva, Tuzi, Rožaj, Danilovgrad, Bar and Mojkovac.

"In other municipalities, public and private preschool institutions will not work, while primary and secondary schools and higher education institutions will continue with online classes, with the exception of ninth grade elementary school students, who will attend classes in school in all municipalities," the announcement reads.