BEWARE! You Should not Post your COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate on Social Media – Here is Why

Got your COVID-19 vaccine jabs? Both the first dose and the second dose? Got your COVID-19 vaccination certificate? Thinking of sharing it on social media? Well, don’t!

Nowadays, people have a tendency to share everything from their social media handles, be it Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram. However, if one is thinking of sharing the COVID-19 vaccination certificate or already has posted the vaccination certificate on social media, it might invite troubles. In fact, the government is also warning everyone to refrain from posting the COVID-19 vaccination certificate on social media

The Ministry of Home Affairs has posted the advisory on Twitter from the Cyber Dost account, which is the Cyber-safety and Cybersecurity awareness handle. Warning users against posting their certificates, the government said in a tweet, “Beware of sharing #vaccination certificate on social media because the vaccine certificate contains your name and other personal details.” The tweet further highlights that vaccination certificates should not be shared on social media as they may be misused by cyber fraudsters to defraud you.

The moment you get your first dose of COVID-19 vaccination, the government issues a certificate that mentions the name of the vaccine you have received, along with the time and date of receiving the vaccination. The certificate also carries the name of the vaccination centre and last four digits of your Aadhaar card. Apart from that, the certificate also mentions the date of your second dose. However, the certificate that you receive after your first dose is only the provisional certificate, you will receive the final certificate once you get fully vaccinated.

A vaccination certificate will become as important as your Aadhar card in the near future as you use it while travelling to other countries, cities as when the COVID situation eases in India. You will get the link to download your certificate as an SMS on your registered mobile number as soon as you take your first dose. You can also sign in to the Cowin portal to download your certificate. You can also get it from the Aarogya Setu app using your beneficiary ID.