As companies and governments around the world create and debate COVID-19 vaccine passports, the state of Louisiana has begun offering a novel and secure solution to its residents: They can now have an electronic version of their COVID-19 vaccination records added to their LA Wallet, the state’s digital drivers’ license app, GCN reports.
Louisiana is the first U.S. state to give its residents digital access to their vaccination records in accordance with the SMART Health Cards Framework, a standard for sharing and verifying personal health information using open, interoperable and verifiable standards, GCN explains.
Launched in 2018, LA Wallet is a legal driver’s license available to all Louisiana residents. It was jointly designed by the Office of Motor Vehicles, the State Police and the Department of Public Safety. Today the free app is used by 670,000 state residents across 1.2 million devices.
An individual’s vaccination record on file with the Louisiana Department of Health can be easily added to the app, at no extra charge. Residents who choose this option can share their COVID-19 status with others either visually or programmatically. It can be used by residents as well as businesses, sporting events, schools, entertainment, and other venues to protect public health and ensure data privacy.
“The power and opportunity of LA Wallet come from its real-time connections to the documents of record of both the Louisiana Department of Public Safety for identity and status and now the Louisiana Department of Health for COVID-19 vaccination status and will be extended to recent COVID-19 test result status,” state officials said. “All of this carefully curated through HIPAA-compliant channels and permissively granted by each citizen wishing to participate.”
“This enhancement is about connecting people with their own personal health information in a simple, secure way,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told GCN. “The LA Wallet app is free, safe, and private and people who use it are assured that their personal health information is well protected.”
Individual COVID-19 test result status will soon be available to add to LA Wallet as well.
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