ConectSUS still has flaws in vaccine records months after hacker attack

More than 74% of the Brazilian population has the first vaccine cycle against Covid-19 complete – and those who took the booster dose exceed 34%. For part of those immunized, however, the doses are not correctly included in ConectSUS, a platform of the Ministry of Health.

People from seven cities in six states reported to the sheet that the government’s vaccine passport is still in deficit or that it took months for the flaw to be corrected. Among the reports heard by the report, there are cases of doses registered half a year after application, despite constant contacts with the municipal health department and SUS to fill in the registration.

The federal government says that the ConectSUS Cidadão application only reproduces what is documented in the information systems of the states, municipalities and the Federal District.

On December 10, a hacker attack on the Ministry of Health’s website took down information systems for reporting cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as vaccination data. It took weeks for the platforms to be re-established.

There are people who are without the vaccines filled in ConectSUS, however, who were immunized before the cyber attack. This is the case of Maria Luiza Rios, whose second dose, administered on November 10, is still not included in the federal system.

A student at UEPG (State University of Ponta Grossa), she says that at least seven other colleagues have the same problem. “Everyone from that same time of vaccination is not getting it.”

The incomplete vaccine passport made the young woman apprehensive in January, as it was necessary to present it for the semester registration. In the end, the physical education student showed the printed document and was able to attend classes, which began in early February.

Rafaela Blacutt, in Florianópolis, also faced system failure before the hacker attack. The first dose of it, applied on August 10, only appeared on ConectSUS in February, after a long bureaucratic journey.

First, she sought the SUS and was instructed to go to the place where she was immunized. There they found that their vaccination data had been filled in correctly, and that the problem would be in the federal system.

The woman from Santa Catarina then opened a call to the SUS ombudsman and had no response for weeks. Two months later, an attendant informed that a second protocol could not be opened and that the correct thing would be to wait for the problem to be resolved.

Blacutt explained to the professional that he wanted to travel internationally and needed an up-to-date vaccination passport. As she would be boarding a foreign airline, the voucher printed in Portuguese might not be accepted. The answer, she recalls, was: “Unfortunately you’re going to have to cancel your trip.”

The woman from Santa Catarina was only able to have the first dose of the vaccine in her ConectSUS after filling out a form from the Florianópolis City Hall to correct similar problems.

There are also reports of failure to complete. For Brunna Moreira, who was immunized in São Gonçalo (RJ), the second dose was only included in the vaccine passport weeks after it was applied, in early February. The point is that it appears as a booster dose.

In the capital of São Paulo there is another curious case. A young woman, who did not want to be identified, looked for 156, the service portal of the São Paulo City Hall, because her second dose was not included in her vaccination passport. The organ guided her to look for the place where she was immunized.

As the vaccination point had been demobilized, the resident of São Paulo sought out the UBS (Basic Health Unit) responsible for the area. There, the employee showed that only the second dose was included in the federal government’s filling system, not the first. Which was the opposite of what appeared in their registration on ConectSUS.

The young woman appealed again to 156, which suggested talking to SUS. When opening a call at the federal agency, she was instructed to look for the place where she was immunized. If it didn’t work out, she should talk to the sector responsible for sending vaccination information to the RNDS (National Health Data Network).

She sought the Municipal Health Department and asked for the contact of that sector indicated by the federal government. The orientation, then, was to talk to Covisa (Coordination of Health Surveillance), which instructed her to send an email to the Regional Health Coordinator.

Only then was the problem resolved, but not before the young woman charged the agency for going weeks without an answer.

The author of this report, a resident of the capital of São Paulo, faced a similar mishap. The booster dose, applied on December 18, was registered on ConectSUS after exactly three months and some charges.

When calling the sector responsible for the south of the city, where the post where she was immunized is located, the attendant informed that there was nothing she could do about it and that only the federal government would be able to correct the failure.

The professional also said that other people had sought out the sector with similar problems. The record appeared on the same day that the Municipal Health Department was questioned for the report.

In the Federal District, Raquel Amaral was lucky with her vaccination passport. She took her booster dose on December 26 and for weeks she was without information on ConectSUS. The tourism specialist discovered that the system was correct on her trip to Fortaleza, in the first half of February.

“There they were asking for proof of vaccination. When I went to enter a tent on the beach, I saw that I had forgotten it at the hotel. Then I opened the app and saw that it was up to date”, he explains.

In a note, the Ministry of Health says that the systems are back to normal after the hacker attack in December. The folder states that the ConectSUS Cidadão application mirrors what is documented in the information systems of states, municipalities and the Federal District.

If the person does not have the vaccine registered in the app within ten days, or if the note is wrong, the ministry advises “to look for the vaccination site or the State or Municipal Health Departments”.

“The user can access support in the application itself, through the menu ‘Talk to Connect SUS’ and by email [email protected]”, concludes the folder in a note.

The Municipal Health Foundation, from Ponta Grossa, says that, after the hacker attack, some people’s information disappeared and that it is necessary to update the data in the system. The agency guides those who have problems with the registration of doses to seek the Department of Immunization and Primary Care of the city.

The report was unable to contact the Health and Civil Defense Department of São Gonçalo (RJ) through the telephone numbers on its website.

The Municipal Health Department of São Paulo says that the UBSs fill in the immunization data in the VaciVida state system. “In case of vaccination inconsistency in the registration of the vaccine passport or digital certificate, the citizen must, first of all, look for the health unit to verify the registration in the VaciVida system, in order to identify possible errors in the registration”, guides, through note.

If there is no error on the São Paulo platform, the municipal department recommends the resident to contact the São Paulo State Health Department by calling 0800-555-46.

And for those who, like Blacutt, want or need to travel internationally, Latam and Gol employees inform that any proof of vaccination is accepted for boarding flights outside Brazil, including what is delivered at the vaccination post.

There are also municipal and state governments that provide their own vouchers, both in Portuguese and in English and Spanish.