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Massachusetts rolls out digital Covid-19 passportish thing

The State House News Service reports Massachusetts today announced "COVID-19 SMART Health Card" to let residents show proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status just days before the state's largest city begins requiring operators of indoor public spaces to check. People without smart phones can still show a copy of their original vaccination card.

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Not only did it get my three COVID shots (which I got at different locations), it also showed every vaccine I've received as an adult in Massachusetts.

The QR code only references the C19 ones, apparently.

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The page I got to get my smaht cahd showed every shot I've gotten for anything back to 2011 (so, hmm, looks like I'm due for a new tetanus shot).

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It does pull up the booster I got last month, but doesn't have the first two doses since I was out of state for those. So I guess I'll still be carrying around my paper card which has all three listed...

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Although i got all three in MA.

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If your healthcare provider uses Epic or Cerner, the online portal can generate a QR code based on your health records, so you may able to get a code by telling your doctor the details of your shots. Whether or not the average restaurant will be able to actually scan it, who knows.

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Easy peasy. If only we could be smart enough to do this nationally.

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But a lot of large retailers have been offering the QR service for a while. So if you got all your shots at a CVS you can still get a code that most readers apps will recognize.

The code is effectively a digitally signed version of the paper card which can't be manipulated like a photo or a physical card. It's still up to the business checking the code to also check your physical photo ID to make sure it matched the name on the QR code.

If the QR code isn't verified against a real ID, it's somewhat pointless to require it as someone could just make a copy of a valid code which isn't theirs.

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You have to show the QR code plus an ID that links you to the QR code.

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I saw a brief clip on the news a while back which showed the process in Israel for proof of vaccination. When the person at the location trying to be entered scans the QR code in addition to the vaccination and identification information it had a picture of the person so you didn't need to pull out an ID.

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Got my smart card in less than 3 minutes. Easy peasy.

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Worked like a charm, I think the entire process including waiting for their instantaneous email took 30 seconds with 15 more to add it to the iPhone health wallet app thingy.

It shouldn't be a controversy, but it seems a vocal minority would prefer a never ending cycle of mutations; apparently today's flavor of the month from Cyprus is an Omi/delta combo. Yum!

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Anyone get this thing successfully into a mobile wallet on Android?

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Just not gonna feed the bear tonight. Done arguing with people.I'm just fucking over this...

Comment deleted.

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It's just a QR code -- you can print it out, if you like.

I don't have a smartphone. I've saved it to my flip phone's SD card and can display it on the screen there, and on my digital camera's card so I can display it there as well. (I'll probably print it at my next convenience.)

But you're probably right about it rarely getting checked.

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I hope random bouncers won't refuse to accept a paper version of the QR code.

But if you're carrying around paper, why not just keep a copy of your actual vax card instead?

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Most bars, restaurants, and theaters will be asking for verification of vax; all museums will be. I got notifications from the MoS, MFA and NEAq today reminding me that we need to bring the vax card (or pic on phone) or QR code for admission.

The reason why the bars, restaurants, and theaters will be asking is because, right now, they have staff out with COVID. So they're going to become a lot more paranoid because they can't afford to be complacent. Also, because various towns' inspectional services will be all over their asses if they don't check.

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deleted also

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...at least at AMC theaters, your "ticket" is a QR code they scan at the entrance. Would be great if they could integrate the vaccine verification too, to do it all in one fell swoop. Or one fell scan, as it were.

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You can also save the image to your phone.

Unlike the card, the QR code is pre-verified against the MIIS system records and will likely be required.

It is much faster to check your ID and scan the code than it is to check the card, too. I've seen this when I went to Montreal. It took them a bit longer to check our passports and the cards than it did for the locals to have their QR scanned while they were being carded.

And, yes, they did this for a Habs game, so it can be done in large numbers.

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It says I got four Pfizer shots -- the last two the same day, from two different providers. That is wrong.

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Mine says I had Pfizer AND Moderna on the same days for my first two shots.

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I ended up with the same error - correctly showing my Moderna shots and booster, but adding a Pfizer shot on the same day as my second Moderna. Sounds like some system glitch.

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Got all the covid shots.

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Magoo’s sez that Magoo got a shot of Awesome. Magoo.

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This is fine and all, but if mass can do this, why can't we do the same for our state IDs? With a majority of places taking Apple/GooglePay, the only physical card I really need to carry around is my ID.

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The QR code is a statement, cryptographically signed by the state, saying "Mx. Greenline T. Brooklyn received such and such shots on such and such dates". The restaurant, to verify this, then needs to check your ID.

It's not a statement about the person *presenting* the image, but about a property associated with the name/birthdate of... some person.

The same approach cannot be used to convey IDs. Yes, IDs are then further checked to ensure that the photo and age match, but the physical possession of a difficult-to-forge card is given a good deal of weight as well.

(Also, why so eager to rush into a world where you rely on a high-cash-value, complex, only-mostly-reliable piece of equipment for not just communication and commerce but *also* identifying yourself? Why does this seem like a world you want to live in?)

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Within a few minutes, I had the ID, saved PDF, printed out a paper copy and had it loaded on my phone/watch.

Now I’m all set to get into all the places that there’s no way in hell I would go out to. :D

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Now I’m all set to get into all the places that there’s no way in hell I would go out to. :D

My wife asked "what does this do for us?" I said "that and $5 gets a remote ordered drink at Starbucks."

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Had knee replacement December 28 at Baptist. January 5 positive and now feel like crap from both knee recovery and COVID. Will not be doing much for a while but did get the code today and was fast and easy. Now I have it on iPhone Wallet to look at it and home and do nothing but some exercises!

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When I was in the hospital back in September, the COVID was secondary to the cellulitis I had, but the symptoms were enough to keep me in the hospital so I wouldn't infect other people. In a way, it was good that the physicians there had the forethought to say, "as long as you're here getting rid of your cellulitis, let's take care of your COVID too so you're not spreading it everywhere."

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... never seems to have reported the booster shot I got there. So, I have it filled out on my paper card, but not online.

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I took photos after each shot and sent to my PCP who updated my medical records for me. That might be best way to ensure all gets into the system.

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I was thinking that might be the best way to take care of this.

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You can do it directly through MIIS: https://myvaxrecords.mass.gov/pages/Request

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Anyone know if these are compatible with the MIIS codes? I.e., can they be used interchangeably?

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Is every small business supposed to have a scanner? Or can they rely on the text that appears below the code, which lists the vaccinations by date? What exactly does scanning the code provide?

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which should be pretty accessible for a business.

I believe the QR code just contains:

- Name
- Date of birth
- List of covid vaccinations (which one + date)
- A cryptographic signature attesting that the above is accurate

And I believe this FAQ is relevant to MA's system: https://smarthealth.cards/en/faq.html#Does-sharing-my-SMART-Health-Card-...

(I can have another try at decoding my QR code to be sure, but there's a moderately annoying use of the DEFLATE algorithm that was tripping me up.)

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In our case, for instance, we have no need for a business cellphone, and I wouldn't feel comfortable scanning customers' codes with my personal cell. I'm sure we'll just accept the text, but I hope the regulations allow for that.

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I tried scanning my QR code with my phone, and the only thing it decoded was a link to www.apple.com/ios/health/ . That would not be helpful for a business employee.

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The QR code encodes data, not a URL you can browse to.

(Specifically, it contains a text element that looks like "shc:/547190...", and probably Apple had the Health app register itself to handle shc:/ codes. SHC probably stands for Smart-Health Card.)

I assume this all works fine if you install an appropriate app and scan from there, rather than just pointing your camera at it and hoping for the best.

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Think that's been said before.

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was that said at all?

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I got all of the information from Massachusetts, including a bunch of other vaccinations over the last several years. But -- no QR code.

Then I tried the CDC's V-Safe and got my QR code from them. The only problem is that their image shows not only the QR code, but other information such as my registration code, and so on. I don't want people to see that information. So, I made a copy of it with just the QR code, cropping the other stuff out.

Anyone know if this will work? I'm such an ignoramus about some things. Thanks!

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