Stores may add digital vaccine records
Walmart, Winn-Dixie, Publix and Walgreens may offer the option
People wondering about more ways to prove they’ve been vaccinated against coronavirus may soon have options from the retailers offering the shots.
Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie and Walgreens are in different stages of possibly giving customers digital access to their coronavirus vaccine records.
Patients getting vaccinated for coronavirus already receive a card with the Department of Health
and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logos on it. It includes information on the vial of vaccine the patient received.
Walmart revealed in March it would make records available through the Health Pass in the CLEAR app and The Commons Project Foundation’s CommonHealth and CommonPass apps.
Customers will need to download one of the apps and then agree from their separate Walmart or Sam’s Club digital account to share their vaccination history with the app they downloaded, according to a Walmart news release.
“Our goal is to give customers vaccinated at Walmart free and secure digital access to their vaccine record and enable them to share that information with third parties seeking
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL
to confirm their vaccination status,” Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said in the release. “We are proud to be the first retailer to strategically partner with both The Commons Project Foundation and CLEAR, and we look forward to working with them to empower people with digital access to their
DAVID FLESHLER/ vaccination records so they can use them whenever and however they choose.”
Meanwhile, Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said the Lakeland-based grocery store chain was researching the “possibilities of delivering this type of information through our Publix Pharmacy App.”
The Jacksonville-based parent company of WinnDixie, Southeastern Grocers, is exploring options with a third-party provider to potentially offer the records, according to Joe Caldwell, director of corporate communications and government relations for Southeastern Grocers.
The company’s brands also include Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarkets, which are offering vaccinations in parts of Florida outside of Orlando.
“We understand our customers may be looking for a convenient digital option to easily share their proof of vaccination and we will be sure to keep our communities informed with further updates as details are finalized,” Caldwell said.
For Walgreens, a “digital dose card” will be available in May through the myWalgreens website and app, a company spokesman said.
The efforts by retailers come as Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order this month barring Florida governments from issuing “vaccine passports, vaccine passes, or other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status to a third party, or otherwise publish or share any individual’s COVID-19 vaccination record or similar health information.”
The order also said businesses in Florida are prohibited from requiring such documentation from customers.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month there wouldn’t be a federal vaccination database or a mandate to obtain a vaccination credential.
“As these tools are being considered by the private and non-profit sectors, our interest is very simple, from the federal government, which is American’s privacy and rights should be protected so that these systems are not used against people unfairly,” Psaki said.
Some countries like
Greece are opening international travel for vaccinated visitors.
“Right now, the onus is on the traveler,” said Jay Wolfson, a professor of public health, medicine and pharmacy at the University of South Florida. “It’s on the individual.”
Vaccine passports would likely come from the private sector, but doing it just for coronavirus would be a short-term deal, said Wolfson, who has worked for almost 15 years on electronic health records throughout Florida.
Wolfson said while investing a large amount of money in a validation program for coronavirus wouldn’t be prudent, it does make sense to have a person’s health and personal information digitalized in one place.
He added there is “every reason to believe the future holds other pandemic-like experiences.”