Could Your Digital Wallet Prove You’ve Been Vaccinated?

The worldwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 is well underway and talk has turned to how the public can quickly and easily prove they’ve been vaccinated in order to travel freely and do certain activities, while keeping the public safe. 

For example, Israel, which is leading the way when it comes to vaccinating its population, has implemented a ‘green passport’ to allow its citizens to enter certain places and take part in particular activities. This is a government-made app that can be downloaded on Apple or Android smartphones. 

However, in America, Los Angeles County has developed a new way for its citizens to prove they have been vaccinated which takes advantage of the existing Apple Wallet and Google Pay mobile systems. This means the public won’t have to download new, cumbersome apps and this vital information can be shifted to new smartphones, tablets and other pieces of technology with ease. 

This was developed through a partnership between Los Angeles County and the startup Healthvana, which specialises in delivering HIV and other sexually transmitted infections results. The original aim was to provide the same for COVID-19 test results, with the main goal to be a way to virtually remind people to take the second dose of the vaccine. 

But as this information can be easily accessed through your phone, it also serves as proof that you have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. It provides a lightweight, simple and effective way of proving that you have been vaccinated, allowing you to access areas and activities that un-vaccinated people are restricted from, for safety reasons. 

In a statement, Healthvana’s Chief Executive Officer Ramin Bastani said this procedure gives people a way to use their Apple or Google accounts to verify they have been vaccinated “to prove to airlines, to prove to schools, to prove to whoever needs it.”

In the UK, the government is still working out the best way to implement a form of vaccine passport, while also managing privacy and freedom concerns. Of course, the main thing is to keep vulnerable members of society safe and a temporary digital vaccine passport looks like the most cost-effective and efficient way, as well as being something that can be arranged quickly with a low chance of technical issues, thanks to the long-standing reliability of Apple and Google’s mobile wallets.