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Virginia is now helping you prove you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 without a card

A waiter checks a customer's QR code at a restaurant in Ascain, France, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Virginia is now offering a similar verification system to residents vaccinated in the state.

Virginia is helping people prove their COVID-19 vaccination status — and giving businesses an easier way to check them — without so-called vaccination passports.

The Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday that QR codes are available to those vaccinated in the state, excluding those who received shots from the Department of Defense or a few other federal entities.

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Roughly 80 million people will be affected by President Joe Biden’s mandate that all companies employing more than 100 workers require vaccinations or tests for the virus weekly. About 17 million people who work at medical facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding also will have to be fully vaccinated.

Federal executive branch workers and state government employees are subject to vaccination requirements. Many other private businesses and institutions followed suit.

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But such policies demand 21st century solutions. It makes little sense for people to carry around vaccination cards that don’t even fit in a standard wallet.

About 5 million Virginians, or 58% of the population, are fully vaccinated.

QR codes — short for “quick response” — are commonly used in retail and logistics. You may have seen them on billboards, posters and tickets. They’re barcodes that sometimes resemble crossword puzzle squares.

They’ve been adopted as a common tool in another realm of pandemic life. Many restaurants have ditched the old-fashioned, hardcopy menus in favor of posting QR codes on tables. Customers scan them with their phones and look at the offerings on their own devices. This avoids the potential for strangers to share germs through the high-touch items.

The codes can be presented on a smartphone or printed on paper. Either the digital version or a hardcopy can be scanned. Individuals who use them don’t need to download a special app.

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In this case, the codes link to vaccination information. All are digitally signed by the state health department, which prevents the code from being altered or forged, public health officials said. Information is only available if the individual chooses to share it, they said.

QR codes are available to anyone whose vaccination record includes a working phone number and is in the Virginia Immunization Information System. Almost all doses administered in the state are reported to the system, including pharmacies, physician offices, health department clinics, federally qualified health centers and community vaccination centers.

Vaccinations from Federal Emergency Management Agency clinics and even some shots administered to Virginians outside of the state can be found in the system.

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But immunizations by the defense department or Veterans Affairs aren’t in the system. That could apply to at least 222,000 people, according to state health department data.

Businesses and employers that choose to use this system may scan QR codes with the free SMART Health Verifier App.

People vaccinated in Virginia can get their codes by going to vaccinate.virginia.gov. The QR codes can be saved on an electronic device or printed on paper.

Elisha Sauers, 757-839-4754, elisha.sauers@pilotonline.com


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