Quietly and Despite Some Objections, A National Digital Vaccine Card Has Emerged
News Times Link: About 200 million people in the United States today, whether they know it or not, have access to a digital Covid-19 vaccine card. The digital badge, known as the SMART Health Card, is a voluntary and minimal design to protect your privacy. A scannable barcode, known as a QR code, contains a person’s name, date of birth, date of vaccination, and brand all in one.
And after a relatively quiet start in recent months, it has gained momentum as more states and companies join, in fact, becoming part of the national digital immunization card.
A year ago, when people first started getting paper cards for their COVID-19 vaccinations, it seemed unlikely that such cards would exist. The Biden administration said in March that it would not take the lead on any national health passports, but instead yield to the private sector, and the idea of a vaccine “passport” has faced opposition and ban, particularly in Republican states such as Alabama and Texas.
The SMART Health Card is not a standalone application, but an open source computer code that anyone can use to verify validated health data sources and generate unique QR codes. Digital maps are now widely available from over 400 sources, including states, pharmacies, and healthcare organizations. The fact that the system exists in some form is a triumph for a loose coalition of technologists, non-profits, and mostly democracies who advocated for the development of digital vaccination cards even before the first coronavirus vaccinations were available.
Digital Cards offer several benefits beyond paper card. QR codes cannot be counterfeited like paper cards, as they can be verified using a scanner app in restaurants or concert halls. Even if the QR code is lost, it can be downloaded again for added convenience.
If you’ve been vaccinated in one of the 13 participating states, you can get a QR code from your state health authority, but you can also get it from hospitals like Albertsons and CVS, or even national pharmacy chains, if vaccinated at a store such as Rite Aid, Walgreens, or Walmart.
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