New York state’s Excelsior Pass, which was introduced in March as the first and only government-issued vaccine
Officials are hoping that it can help New Yorkers feel confident about the safety of businesses and jump-start a statewide economy that is still reeling from losses experienced during the pandemic. But for that to happen, they will need more people and businesses to start using it and vaccine passports to become more universally accepted.
Though it is basically just a QR code on your phone that indicates your vaccine status, the pass, and vaccine passports more generally, have become a political flashpoint among conservatives who say the passports violate privacy concerns.
About 1.1 million Excelsior passes have been downloaded onto phones and computers since the passport’s introduction, according to the state, which is only a fraction of the 8.9 million New Yorkers who have so far been fully vaccinated.
But officials are hopeful that it will catch on more widely, though the Biden government is not going to make vaccine mandate nationally.
Eric Piscini, the vice president for emerging business networks at IBM, which developed the Excelsior Pass for the state, said New York was in discussions with other states so the pass could be used by out-of-state residents in New York and by New Yorkers elsewhere, reports The Independent.
“In the application space, when you reach a million people, that’s a pretty good threshold to pass,” Mr Piscini said. “That is a really good indication that people find value in this.”
Nationally, a range of states including Georgia, Alabama, Arizona and Florida have already banned the use of vaccine passports. Skip in 5
But though major sports venues and a growing number of smaller New York businesses are embracing using the app, the vast majority of businesses are not requiring any proof of vaccination to enter.
