State launches 'WA Verify,' online tool to prove COVID-19 vaccination status
Photo credit: Washington Department of Health
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington has officially launched WA Verify, an online tool to help people prove their COVID-19 vaccination status on the go.
Many venues and restaurants in King County now require proof of vaccination, and while 74.3% of the population is vaccinated, they still need to prove it. Normally, that comes in the form of a COVID-19 vaccine card or a copy of it, a printout of medical records from a health provider, a certificate from MyIR Mobile, and now, a record and QR code on the WA Verify website.
KEEP READING: Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test at large indoor and outdoor events starts Monday
To use WA Verify, enter your name, date of birth and an email or phone number associated with your vaccine record. You will get a link that will connect you to your digital COVID vaccine record, including a QR code that can be scanned by a SMART Health Card reader.
"More businesses, events, and employers are requiring people to be vaccinated. We ask that you respect the rules of the room and be prepared in advance to show the type of vaccination proof requested," said Secretary of Health Umair Shah. "If you have plans to go to an event or want to grab dinner with a friend, please do not wait until the last minute to verify your vaccination status – prepare ahead of time by taking those steps today."
Some places may still only accept a vaccine card, so officials note you should prepare ahead of time by seeing what verification is needed before going to a venue.
"I am excited to see Washington State offer verifiable vaccine records to its residents. The fact that Washington has translated their system into over 30 languages and shared that content publicly on GitHub for other states to leverage is inspiring," said Josh Mendel of Microsoft Healthcare. "When we created SMART Health Cards, we wanted to empower individuals with an open, secure, privacy-preserving tool to access their health records. Seeing SMART Health Cards applied to COVID-19 to help communities across Washington reopen safely is a reminder of the power of interoperable technology."
Anyone with questions about accessing vaccine records can contact the state's COVID-19 Information Hotline at 1-800-525-0127 and press #.
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