N.L.'s vaccine passport rolls out Friday. Here's how it works
CBC
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has unveiled details of its vaccine passport program a day ahead of its Friday release, with the system set to eventually cover a wide swath of the province's public life.
The passports take the form of a QR code that either lives on a smartphone app or on a physical paper copy. That code will be shown and scanned as the proof of COVID-19 vaccination required to access myriad businesses, centres and community spaces for those age 12 and up.
The app, dubbed "NLVaxPass," stores the QR codes but no personal health information, according to the provincial government.
Businesses and organizations must download a verifier app, NLVaxVerify, onto a mobile device in order to check people's QR codes as they enter. If the person is fully vaccinated, a green bar appears, with an accompanying chime and buzz — if not, a red bar and a separate chime and vibration.
No personal information, besides the person's name, will appear, says the government.
"Our vaccine passport apps are tools in our public health toolbox that will help stop the spread of the virus and help allow a new normal, albeit not the same as before," Premier Andrew Furey said at the passport launch in St. John's on Thursday afternoon.
Valid medical exemptions from immunization will be given a QR code and treated the same as if a person is fully vaccinated.