With time passing by and the wary trust from the American people, Lawmakers and scientists think it’s the best time to roll out and develop a COVID-19 “passport” that will make it faster and easier for businesses to verify a customer’s vaccination or testing status before allowing them in the establishment. First state on the list? New York, which launched the Excelsior Pass on March 26.
The way it works is it combines a smartphone wallet app for individual use and a scanner app for businesses. New York residents can link their vaccination information or negative test results to the Excelsior Pass app.
From there, it displays a QR code that companies can scan. People also have the option of printing out the QR Code.
Although the app is only available to New Yorkers, several other states are looking to hop on board.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying,
“New Yorkers have proven they can follow public health guidance to beat back COVID, and the innovative Excelsior Pass is another tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure,”
Airlines have yet to put in play vaccination requirements, with some travel industry leaders and consumers raising concerns about mandatory vaccinations being discriminatory.
But others are remaining hopeful.
