5th State Adopts QR Codes for COVID-19 Vaccination Records

The Virginia Department of Health (DOH) announced on September 16, 2021, the addition of short-response (QR) codes to Virginia COVID-19 vaccination records. QR codes enable anyone to show proof of vaccination with a digital or printed QR code instead of a paper card without an app.

A person vaccinated in Virginia can visit vaccinate.virginia.gov to obtain their free vaccination record with a QR code, which can be saved to a phone, printed on paper, or stored in a compatible account.

QR codes are available to anyone whose vaccination record includes a working phone number and is in the Virginia Immunization Information System.

Because the Virginia Department of Health digitally signs the QR code, it cannot be altered or forged.

And information from QR codes is only available if and when the individual chooses to share it, says the Virginia DOH.

Virginia is now the fifth U.S. state to adopt the SMART Health format for QR codes. The framework and standards were developed by VCI, a coalition of more than 800 public and private organizations, including The Mayo Clinic, Boston Children’s Hospital, Microsoft, MITRE, and The Commons Project Foundation.

The U.S. CDC says Immunization information systems are confidential, population-based, computerized databases that record all immunization doses administered by participating providers to persons residing within a given geopolitical area.