Claim: Ghanaians who are unable to verify their vaccination status should provide their personal information in a google form
Source: Viral WhatsApp Message
Verdict: PHISHING SCAM
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
Have you seen a viral WhatsApp message asking fully vaccinated Ghanaians who are unable to verify their vaccination status on the COVID-19 vaccination platform to provide their personal information in a google form?
This comes amidst complaints from some social media users (here and here) that they are unable to verify their vaccination status after being fully vaccinated and this has been previously reported by GhanaFact (here).
However, the viral WhatsApp message which has been labelled as “forwarded many times” asking for people’s personal information in a google form is not coming from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) – the health agency leading Ghana’s efforts to tackle the pandemic – and is a PHISHING SCAM.
“This message attributed to the Ghana Health Service/ Ministry of Health is fake.” The Public Relations Department of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has stated.
Meanwhile, GhanaFact efforts to access the phishing link showed it had been taken down, with a notice stating that the form was no longer accepting responses.
Context
COVID-19 vaccine recipients in Ghana were issued with vaccination cards that captured some of their personal details, type of vaccine and date of receiving the first and second dose.
These records were supposed to be hosted on the centralized COVID-19 immunization tracker platform of the Ministry of Health which is being managed by the Ghana Health Service(GHS).
But some fully vaccinated Ghanaians after scanning the QR code and entering the vaccination number on the back of their vaccination card to log onto the platform, are getting feedback that “no vaccination record found.”
Ghana Health Service Update
The health agency leading Ghana’s efforts to tackle the pandemic in a statement said it had noted the inability of some fully vaccinated individuals, especially those travelling outside Ghana, to verify their proof of vaccination.
“In the interim, a desk has been set up at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for verification of vaccination status for travellers.” The statement released in August said.
“A chunk of the people who have been fully vaccinated cannot verify their status using the Barcode (QR code) at the back of their COVID-19 Vaccination Cards or via the TRACKER portal, and for such persons, they are to visit the nearest health facility or District Health Directorate for assistance.” Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano told GhanaFact in an interview(here).
Verdict
The viral message is a PHISHING SCAM and is not coming from the Ghana Health Service(GHS).
