Photo: Moment RF
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) – A new national standard for digital vaccine certifications is based on technology from Boston Children’s Hospital, one that can be displayed on a smartphone or printed on paper.
The Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), a consortium of major tech and health care companies ranging from Microsoft to the Mayo Clinic, has come up with a more durable way to show proof of vaccination.
The SMART Health Card system features a QR code that can be read by any smartphone or computer with the correct software.
The code shows the person’s name, date of birth, date of vaccination, where it was administered and which vaccine was used. No other health information is displayed.
The code is also signed digitally to ensure that it was issued by a legitimate institution, practically eliminating the risk of forgery.
SMART was recently finalized by VCI and is slowly starting to make its way across the country. A majority of big pharmacy chains and healthcare technology vendors are starting to use the health card.
While several states have adopted this standard, Massachusetts has yet to do so. However, vaccinated people in Massachusetts may still be able to use the SMART card if they got their shots from a participating pharmacy such as CVS, Walgreens or Walmart.
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