Vaccine Passports With Clear
You may have heard of vaccine passports recently, as the regulations of businesses and other institutions are changing to require proof of vaccination. Without them, you can’t enter these public institutions, and you will be asked to leave. As such, we’ve compiled a helpful guide to navigating them as well as a new way to make them more convenient.
What are Vaccine Passports?
Vaccine passports, also known as immunity certificates or health passes, are proof that you are protected from a certain contagion through a vaccine. These are similar to immunization records, which are required in many workplaces and schools. According to NPR, they were even used to control smallpox in the 1800s. In light of the pandemic, they’ve gained a recent media spotlight. Some public buildings will check for vaccine passports before letting anyone in.
In order to get a vaccine passport to use for most locations, you will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 using one of the vaccines currently available in the US: Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Moderna. These have all been approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Pfizer vaccine recently gained FDA approval. If a vaccine requires multiple doses to be effective such as the Moderna vaccine, then you will need to receive all the doses in order to be considered fully vaccinated.
Is There a Way To Make Vaccine Passports More Convenient?
In the past, the CDC has sent out small paper cards to vaccinated individuals to provide more convenient proof of vaccination. Some vaccine providers such as Walmart use similar cards that have QR codes on them. Unfortunately, this has caused people multiple issues. Some have damaged or lost the paper cards, as a few common examples. Thankfully, CLEAR issued an update to their app that allows you to access your vaccine passport from your smartphone. The app is currently available for free on the App Store for Apple users, as well as on the Google Play Store for Android and other devices.
How can the CLEAR app benefit businesses?
The CLEAR app is mainly designed for personal use, but the CLEAR app can also have business integrations as well, as stated on their website. If you’d like to have a simplified process for checking vaccine passports, the app will allow your employees to easily upload their vaccine passports or negative Covid tests all with the push of a button.
Naturally, this is much more efficient for businesses because they don’t need to file through paperwork for employees. In addition, if you require IT services or otherwise need others to enter your building, you can more conveniently check their vaccine passports as well. You can also set the requirements for entry to your exact specifications. For example, you can check for vaccination records and Covid test results, but you can opt-out of health surveys.
If you integrate the CLEAR app into your business, employees, visitors, or clients will be able to see this ahead of time if they download the CLEAR app. This will allow them to have all the necessary information ready before they even enter the building for greater efficiency.
How Did the CLEAR App Start?
The CLEAR app has gained attention recently due to its Health Pass feature, but the app has been around for a number of years. The app is run by a company of the same name, which is focused on implementing biometric security measures through facial scanning. Instead of requiring you to carry ID papers around, a quick facial scan can confirm your identity. Many airports use the app for expedited TSA lines, which makes them run more efficiently.
How Do I Use the CLEAR App?
Using the CLEAR app is quite simple. You just need to download the app, agree to the Terms of Service, and you can start using the app right away. You can find the Health Pass feature on the Home tab, and if you click on it, you can choose an eligible location to start building your health pass per the institution’s requirements.
To build a health pass, you’ll need to create a free account with CLEAR by entering your email and phone number. Then the app will prompt you to scan a valid ID and scan your facial features. You’ll need to use a device with an inner and outer camera, preferably one that’s high-quality to capture your ID and facial features correctly. Your device will issue a few simple prompts to complete this process, and it will let you know if there are any issues.
Next, you’ll add your name, zip code, date of birth, and password to your CLEAR account. It’s highly recommended that you use a secure password, especially since sensitive data is involved. Make sure the password not only follows the minimum guidelines, but is also long, difficult to guess, and not something you’ve used on another site. You can then add your vaccination information by scanning a SMART health QR code, CDC-issued vaccination card, or using a few other methods. If you need to scan a card, you can also upload a photo of the file manually if you have one available.
You can also link your health care provider’s data to the app by securely logging in to your patient portal. The data will usually sync instantly, but it could take up to an hour. If there are any issues such as the data not showing up, you’ll need to contact your health care provider to resolve this before you can complete your health pass.
At this point, your health pass should be complete. Note that some places may require extra verification, which you can see ahead of time on the CLEAR app. Simply find the location you’d like to go to, and then you can check if there are any extra steps required to get in beyond the information you added already.
If you’d like more technology tips or updates like these, be sure to contact us today.
