iOS 15 and Covid vaccine card

[steelyman]

I finally got my Covid-19 vaccine card imported into Apple Wallet on my iPhone 8 this morning.

It wasn’t the most obvious procedure and my understanding is that your provider/record keeper has to support it. My records are mainly through UNC Health which uses Epic (my PCP uses a different system).

I’ve been going around with a photocopied/printed copy of my physical vaccine record in my physical wallet so this’ll be nice to have.

[ADDED] This post could have been in the Health and ER forum but I chose to put in Tech. I’m happy to have it moved.

Also, this is with iOS 15.1 which I just downloaded and installed.

 

[Go-NoGo]

I did the same a few days ago.. My pharmacy sent me a QR code which was then used to enter the information into the iphone wallet app.

I also have the vaccination information in the CLEAR app, this is the same app that allows you to access the CLEAR lanes at the airport. You DO NOT have to pay the fee for CLEAR to use the vaccine part of the app - that is free.

 

[donheff]

We (DC) use an outfit called MyIRMobile. I can view the certificate online and download a PDF but I can't find any way to export it to something like Apple Wallet. The FAQ says something about exporting to Google Pay but doesn't explain how.

These people really should get their communication capabilities together.

Edit: I figured out how to generate and scan a QR code from this dumb site but it wasn't recognized in Google Pay or Apple Wallet

 

[braumeister]

When I got my booster yesterday at a Kroger pharmacy in Kentucky, I asked if they were using the digital vaccination record yet. The answer was "Eventually, but we don't know when."

My understanding is that only some states are doing this so far, and within those states only some providers are participating.

Not a big deal. I took a photo of my card in the iPhone Notes app and pinned the note to the top so it's easily available.

 

[steelyman]

I think this is the quote (from Apple’s iOS 15.1 notes) that made me think it might actually work. Previous attempts didn’t seem to have a snowball’s chance.

It was the “verifiable” part that hooked me.

I agree that communication/description quality could use a lot of work and not just with Wallet/Health.

COVID-19 vaccination card support allows you to add and present verifiable vaccination information from Apple Wallet

 

[camfused]

@steelyman, can you point us to the procedure for how to do this please?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

@steelyman, can you point us to the procedure for how to do this please?

Here are Apple's instructions...

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212752

Note, that not all vaccination providers are going to work. "You can download verifiable vaccination and test result records if your vaccine or test result provider supports this format. Check with your provider to see if they support verifiable health records."

 

[steelyman]

@steelyman, can you point us to the procedure for how to do this please?

I’m not sure I can be of much help beyond what PaunchyPirate just posted.

What I can say is that I’m an Apple user and my phone has been updated to iOS 15.1. I use the Apple Health app.

It seems that what’s really important is whether your health care provider participates in a medical record system that interoperates with Apple Health. I belong to the Univ of NC health system which uses Epic for medical record keeping. UNCH did the vaccinations. There’s a separate app for Epic called MyChart that I installed on my phone.

Once you link your provider to Apple Health (for me that’s through MyChart) you should be able to access your records on the app and keep them up to date. It’s actually kind of magical but maybe because it seems so opaque to set up at first.

It’s been a little while so I can’t recall what was the final step to get the card into Apple Wallet. I think that happened from MyChart (Epic).

My primary care doctor does NOT use Epic so I can’t get those records into Apple Health. [emoji20]

When it’s all done you don’t get a lot in Wallet but a new card that shows a QR code. You can tap to get a summary detail: when and where you got the shots.

[ADDED] While reviewing this I double-checked to see what the detailed summary says. I got my second Moderna shot on May 4, 2021. Booster time!

 

[USGrant1962]

Just a note of caution - don't try to use these apps or photos of your vax card anywhere important. As people noted above, they are not yet widely accepted.

We went to Roatan a couple of months ago and there was a serious meltdown in the airport because at least one woman didn't bring her original card. She was trying to use a photo of her card on her phone and immigration wouldn't take it. I don't know how it ended, but there was crying involved.

 

[SecondCor521]

I just took a picture with my phone and added the picture to my Favorites.

I've yet to be asked for the actual vaccine card except once when traveling internationally in August. (ETA: I brought the actual card with me on the trip. I think it was only the airlines and maybe the cruise ship who asked to see it.)

Europe apparently has a digital vaccine card app on people's phones. They also have some sort of app that in theory does automatic contact tracing at cafes and restaurants. I don't know if or how well it works though - the Europeans seemed to think that the digital vaccine card thing worked well but contact tracing was struggling.

 

[Alan]

Europe apparently has a digital vaccine card app on people's phones. They also have some sort of app that in theory does automatic contact tracing at cafes and restaurants. I don't know if or how well it works though - the Europeans seemed to think that the digital vaccine card thing worked well but contact tracing was struggling.

The digital vaccine card apparently does work well as many Brits can attest.

The contact tracing tracing app also works well, although I have not been to Europe to try it out. Biggest advantage I see currently is that when you go into a venue, including pubs and cafes, you open up the app to check in and point the camera at the QR code at the entrance. Saves having to write down name and contact details in a log book or sheet. If someone tests positive in the venue then the venue reports it to "test and trace" and everyone that was inside the venue at the time gets an anonymous notification through their app that they may have been in close contact with someone that had Covid. (The trace app contains none of your personal details and is a different app to the vaccine pass)

 

[Chuckanut]

Here are Apple's instructions...

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212752

Note, that not all vaccination providers are going to work. "You can download verifiable vaccination and test result records if your vaccine or test result provider supports this format. Check with your provider to see if they support verifiable health records."

My state uses MyIRmobile. It is supposed to work with the SMART Health Cards system, but it doesn't. Apparently their QR codes don't work at this time and they have stopped displaying them.

Nothing to do but sit and wait.

 

[Sojourner]

I wouldn't expect a photo of my vaccine card to work at airports or anyplace with strict vaccine requirements, but it should work just fine at most other places like restaurants or hotels, etc. I also wouldn't count on a digital vaccination record (through Apple Wallet, e.g.) to work everywhere at this time, so I'd be sure to take my physical card with me, especially while traveling overseas.

 

[SecondCor521]

The digital vaccine card apparently does work well as many Brits can attest.

The contact tracing tracing app also works well, although I have not been to Europe to try it out. Biggest advantage I see currently is that when you go into a venue, including pubs and cafes, you open up the app to check in and point the camera at the QR code at the entrance. Saves having to write down name and contact details in a log book or sheet. If someone tests positive in the venue then the venue reports it to "test and trace" and everyone that was inside the venue at the time gets an anonymous notification through their app that they may have been in close contact with someone that had Covid. (The trace app contains none of your personal details and is a different app to the vaccine pass)

As two non Brits with American CDC paper vaccine cards, we first found out about the contact tracing app when a couple of trying-to-be-very-compliant cafes had us fill out an actual piece of paper which was apparently the fallback method for non-Europeans (or Europeans without apps). One was a postcard where they just asked me to put my name and home address on, which I rather suspected was just going to be tossed and that perhaps they thought I was some sort of undercover contact-tracing auditor.

I'm guessing most of the rest of the places just expected us to know to scan the QR code in our phones on our own.

Anyhow, not knowing about the contact tracing stuff, I asked various servers and locals and workers on the boat (river cruise), and it was their opinion that it wasn't working well. Maybe the app itself works and the theory works, but the impression I recall was that the amount of data was overwhelming some back end manual processes and the delay between identifying a sick person and then the (apparently) manual process of identifying and notifying all the contacts was overwhelming the (apparently insufficient) number of tracing folks. One would hope that this latter process was automatic, but it didn't sound like it did when and where we were.

I'm relatively agnostic about approaches to fighting COVID, and especially when I'm a guest in other places and countries I generally just go along to get along - find out what the rules are, ask questions to understand them, then follow them. What I'm remarking above is just my impression of their opinion of contact tracing based on a somewhat small sample size.

 

[steelyman]

I don’t think I’ve ever used a QR code. But it can’t hurt to have one to produce on the phone. I have a paper copy of my vaccination card (front and back) in my physical wallet. I hope that can cover most situations.

[ADDED] Only recently I discovered there’s a Code Scanner in iOS that you can access through Control Center. I must not be on the bleeding edge!

 

[Chuckanut]

With 50 states that can't agree on one method of officially keeping vaccine records, it's going to be a mess. Maybe in time it will be sorted out.

Thankfully, most foreign countries know Americans to be 'big spenders' so I think they will find a way to allow us to visit.

I was reading about the Chinese approach to Zero Covid. Tens of thousands of people locked up at Disneyland until they could be tested and released all because one person tested positive. The population has been warned to stock up on essentials in the event of strict lockdowns in the future.

 

[mpeirce]

We were in NYC last week. DS (resident) had his vaccine card in his iPhone wallet and used that everywhere.

We knew we needed a card to be able to eat anywhere, so had a photo of it (which worked fine) and the physical card in DW’s purse if need be. Only MOMA wanted to see the real card.

Here in Ohio I’ve never needed the card. Frankly, the only place I’ve needed even a mask lately is a doctor’s office. But then I don’t get out much ;-)

Funny how our case load seems to be coming down as well or better than in New York.

The one thing I liked in NYC was that most restaurants had QR codes that once scanned would bring up their menus on their website. Nice.