THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Monday released a new technology that state residents can use voluntarily to provide digital proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
A portal on a state-run website called My Vax Records will now let residents access their state vaccine records online and obtain a QR code that can be scanned to prove that they are vaccinated.
Administration officials made clear that the governor is not announcing any vaccine mandates for entry into venues, but the administration is providing the tool to make it easier for residents to provide proof of their vaccine status, should a business or municipality require it. At a State House press conference, Gov. Charlie Baker said the tool may be particularly attractive to people who travel.
“It’s a far more customer-friendly and effective way to make this tool available,” Baker said.
The governor said the website went through a soft launch over the last couple of weeks and a lot of people participated. He said people need to be aware, however, that vaccinations obtained out of state will not show up but there is a process spelled out on the website to have that information added. “I think it’s going to work pretty well,” Baker said.
Baker reiterated that the tool is voluntary and not part of any mandate. “We want to make this available for people so that they have it and can use it and make their lives easier and less complicated,” he said.
The Massachusetts tool uses the SMART Health Card platform, which is currently being used by about a dozen other states and several pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, that offer digital proof of vaccines. That creates a level of interoperability, since businesses or municipalities that require vaccines are likely to recognize SMART Health Cards.
Baker has mandated COVID vaccines for executive branch employees, but has intentionally not created a statewide policy either requiring vaccines for entering certain spaces or banning vaccine mandates. Instead, he left it to individual businesses and municipalities.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently announced that the city of Boston will require vaccination for workers and customers of gyms, restaurants, and indoor entertainment venues. Several Boston-area communities are considering similar mandates. A number of private businesses, including many museums and theaters, have imposed their own vaccine requirements.
Currently, people can generally prove their status by showing the CDC-issued paper vaccine card, a picture of the card, or a digital app.
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About Shira Schoenberg
Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
About Shira Schoenberg
Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
With this technology, a person can go to a website that is linked to the state’s immunization database, a database established in 2011 that lists a resident’s in-state vaccination history. They will enter their name, birthday, and a phone number or email address, then get a text message with a link. The person can click on the link within 24 hours to see their entire vaccination history. They can then create a QR code that contains their name, birthday, and the dates and types of their COVID-19 vaccine doses. The person can screenshot the code, print it, or save it on their phone in their digital wallet or health record.
The record will be scannable by anyone who has downloaded a SMART Health Card reader app.
If someone is unable to access their record, state officials said it probably means their phone number or email address was not uploaded by their health care provider. The person can call their health care provider to get the record updated or contact database administrators. Because the site is based on Massachusetts’ vaccine database, it will not reflect doses administered in other states.
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