How to Digitize Your COVID-19 Vaccination Records
GEEK GIRL TESTS OUT THE NEW HEALTH TECH SENSATION OF VACCINATION PASSPORT APPS
As of Aug. 16, New York City requires proof of vaccination for many indoor activities, such as dining, gyms and events. On Aug. 20, San Francisco will require all restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms and large indoor events to obtain proof of vaccination from patrons and employees. As of July, restaurants and bars can operate at full capacity on Oahu if they require proof of vaccinations. Most universities require proof of vaccination for students returning to campus. For many reasons, black market forgery being one of them, it won’t be enough to show your tattered or hastily laminated paper card anymore. You’ll need to have your proof of COVID vaccination card, digitized. and validated. Thankfully, as always, there’s an app for that - actually countless apps.
DIY
The fastest and easiest thing to do is take a photo of your vaccination card and save it on your phone. I just have an album on my camera roll of COVID-related documents like vaccinations and tests.
State-Run Portals
Many states have their own portals for vaccination passports all of varying degrees of functionality and speed.
California has a digital vaccine record program whereby you simply enter your information and receive a QR code. You’ll receive a text immediately if your information is not in the system, and you’ll basically have to enter all of your data as part of a “questionnaire.” It could take 2-3 weeks for the Department of Health to check the information against your record. Once you have the QR code, or our Smart Health Card, you can enroll in other digital health programs for travel, like CommonPass (more on that later!)
New York state offers the Excelsior Pass. The Pass is standard, is only accepted in New York State by participating businesses and venues, can also display negative test results, but does not include COVID-19 vaccination dates or dosage information. The Excelsior Pass Plus provides access to your vaccination information, and includes vaccine type, site, and date of your vaccination, just like your paper CDC Card. Both take a bit more time as they are verified against a person’s records in the state database. New York City residents could also use the NYC Covid Safe App, but while it’s faster to use, Excelsior Pass is harder to fake.
Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Utah all have their own apps and portals for residents.
All the Healthtech Apps
Tons of private healthtech companies have jumped into the digital health passport pool as well. Healthtech is the fastest growing vertical within the healthcare sector. It includes any technology-enabled healthcare product and service that can be delivered or consumed outside of a hospital or physician’s office
Clear Health Pass was rated as the best by the Washington Post. It’s definitely the most flexible and the most broadly useful right now. You can enroll online immediately with your passport or ID card and simply upload a photo of your vaccination card. The pass is valid for 253 hours, randomly. The QR code generated by Clear Health is not recognized by Common Pass (more on that below!) but it is accepted by the State of Hawaii’s Safe Travels program and has been picked up for use by the NBA, MGM Resorts and several other arenas and large public venues. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
MyIR Mobile can digitize records for residents in Arizona, Washington DC, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, Washington, and West Virgina.
Los Angeles-based Healthvana was the first in the US to enable patients using Android devices to add their Covid vaccination record to their Google Play app. I’m not an Android user so I didn’t try this one out.
Common Pass was created by The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum and was specifically designed for travel. Users can connect their test results and vaccination records to the app, which will compare them against individual countries' COVID-related entry requirements. If you're a frequent international traveler, the CommonPass may come in handy: it's being rolled out for use by JetBlue, United, Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. Once you have your QR code from your state or health provider, you can sign up for Common Pass. Clear Health Pass is not recognized as a Smart Health Card by Common Pass.
Then there’s VaxYes by Go Get Go. It’s an easy sign-up process. The benefit is that vaccine lot number is included, in addition to type of vaccine and dates. The service is free, but you are asked to make an optional donation at sign-in. (I opted not to.). The process is so fast in fact that in the time that I’ve been writing this post, I received the link. Vax Yes interfaces easily with Apple Wallet as well.
OVERALL REVIEW
Clear Health Pass is the fastest and most widely used for now. For Californians, the state’s digital QR code would be the most legitimate and accepted Smart Health Card, but it’s unclear how long it will take. I’m still waiting for verification. But definitely take a photo of your vaccination card and pop it in your wallet or save it somewhere easily accessible on your phone in the meantime. So easy, so stupid, but definitely so worth it. And if you’re not yet vaccinated, GO GET VACCINATED.