A healthcare worker holds a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine vial at a hospital in Glendale, California, US. Tracking Covid-19 vaccine recipients and authenticating immunisation status are poised to become increasingly important in the US and globally as vaccines are rolled out. Reuters
Covid-19 vaccine recipients in Los Angeles County, a major virus hot spot, will be offered a digital record that will help ensure they get a second shot and could, eventually, be used to gain access to concert venues or airline flights.
The offering is being provided starting this week through a partnership with the startup Healthvana. It’s initially geared toward ensuring people receive both doses of the two-shot regimens that have been authorised in the US, including through follow-up notifications before a second appointment.
BBC News
Published
image copyrightGetty Images
People who get the coronavirus vaccine in Los Angeles will be able to keep proof of immunisation in their iPhone s digital wallet.
The record will live in the Apple Wallet, usually used for payment cards, boarding passes, or event tickets.
Officials say it will first be used to remind people to get their second required dose of the vaccine.
But it could also be used as proof of vaccination in the Covid-19 hotspot of Los Angeles.
The digital card could be used to prove to airlines, to prove to schools, to prove to whoever needs it, that a recipient has been immunised, the company s chief executive Ramin Bastani told the newspaper.