As COVID-19 vaccines start getting into American arms, a new issue for employers, students, and others is about to come up.
How do you prove you got the vaccine?
For most of us, it has always been a piece of paper issued by the health department. Now there is new technology on the horizon that might make the verification process faster and easier.
Right now there is no plan yet in place to prove someone has received the vaccine.
Pacific Business Group on Health, which represents big companies like Salesforce and Walmart, said it will not be as easy as self reporting.
"There is nothing our employers want more than for their employees to be able to come back to work," said Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO of Pacific Business Group on Health. They are under significant economic pressure in this recession, but it has to be done in a way that protects employees, and keeps people healthy.
Soon, there will be an app for that.
Vacmobile is one of several startups working to create a mobile app that collects and stores your vaccine data. The app would then send the information encrypted to your employer, school and anyone the user would want it delivered to.
"You would get a certified record from the state sent directly to your own personal digital vault stored in the cloud, for which only you'll have the key," said Jennifer Sparks, Vacmobile CEO.
There are several companies working to bring a vaccine-related app to a smartphone -- Apple, Google, Microsoft among them -- recognizing that businesses want to know who has been vaccinated.
