If you are one of the lucky 10.8 million who received the COVID-19 vaccine (that is, one in 30 Americans), then all you need to show now is a piece of paper, but that may change soon.
A coalition of technology companies and healthcare organizations announced on Thursday that they are working on developing an application that will allow people to share their immunization status, reports the New York Times.
Companies, including Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft and Mayo Clinic, are working to build a “vaccine passport application” that will allow people to establish their vaccination status for work, travel and other activities.
A similar application already exists for air travelers to show airlines that they recently tested negative for COVID-19 to board a plane. The Common Pass is currently being used by United Airline and JetBlue, among other operators.
The Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) is being launched to provide a “reliable, traceable, verifiable and universally recognized digital record of vaccination status,” the coalition said in a press release. A digital record “is urgently needed worldwide to allow people to return to work, school, events and travel,” the statement said.
The purpose of VCI is to give individuals access to an encrypted digital copy of their immunization records. The coalition also said that those who do not have smartphones can receive paper printed with QR codes containing the credentials.
The current records of COVID-19, issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, indicate the vaccine manufacturer, the batch number and the date of inoculation, but there is no federal system in place that allows easy access to immunization records online.
“As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, having electronic access to vaccination, testing and other medical records will be vital to resuming travel and more,” said Mike Sicilia, executive vice president, Oracle Global Business Units. in the statement. “This process needs to be as easy as online banking.”