ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region has started issuing international coronavirus vaccination cards, Erbil's governor told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Individuals can submit their papers to the health centers where they received both of their doses and pick up their cards at the same place a week after, according to Omed Khoshnaw. A newly opened center in Erbil will process the cards.
At least 10,000 cards are ready to be collected, added the governor.
The new vaccination card reportedly has a barcode that authorities can scan to identify someone in the system.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced in late July that Iraqi citizens traveling abroad will be required to present international vaccination cards starting from October 1.
“Iraqi travelers are obliged to present an international vaccination certificate for COVID-19 starting October 1, 2021, as well as the requirements asked for by the country they are traveling to,” said Nael Saad Abdlhadi, head of the aviation authority.
Iraq is recording more than 4,000 cases per day and the Kurdistan Region more than 1,000, though both are seeing infection rates slow after record high new cases in a third wave of the virus as the more contagious Delta variant spread.
The surge in infections contributed to an increased demand for vaccines, especially Pfizer, which was initially only administered in central hospitals but is now more widely available. There are at least 135 vaccination centers in the Kurdistan Region, according to statistics from the health ministry.
Both Iraq and the Region received their first vaccines, the Chinese-made Sinopharm, in March. They also obtained Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. The Kurdistan Region has received 1,164,180 doses of all three vaccines, according to data shared by the government last month.
On Monday, the Region recorded 1,215 cases while Iraq reported 2,447 cases.
