As public health leaders across the country weigh the pros and cons of so-called “vaccine passports” – a record meant to show a person has been inoculated against COVID-19 – the OC Health Care Agency is planning a field test to figure out how proving immunity would work in the real world.
The agency announced that in April it will launch a pilot program to test “digital passports” – likely through the county’s Othena vaccine scheduling app – which a vaccinated person could display to enter places where strangers inevitably mix, such as at conferences, meetings, concerts and sporting events.
But concrete information about the upcoming test run was limited; the Health Care Agency’s initial notice on Wednesday lacked details.
Dr. Clayton Chau, the agency’s director and county health officer, said he told state health officials Tuesday that Orange County could easily introduce a function to Othena for people who used the county’s system to get vaccinated to show anyone who asks for proof.
But Chau said he worries about leaving behind people who either haven’t been vaccinated yet, or who have but don’t have a smartphone or internet access to use a digital version of such a passport. He suggested also issuing printed cards.
Since January, Othena has been used to schedule more than 1 million vaccine appointments at county super PODs – points-of-distribution at Disneyland, the Anaheim Convention Center, Soka University and the OC Fairgrounds – as well as pop-up mobile PODs targeting specific hard-to-reach communities.
The county’s rollout continues to outpace other providers – Othena vaccinations account for 35% of doses given so far; CVS pharmacies are in second with 12%, according to the OC Health Care Agency’s latest data.
But what needs figuring out, Chau said, is how to bring the records of people who were vaccinated through traditional and private providers under the Othena umbrella for a passport system.
It’ll take buy-in from large players such as health care systems to small doctor’s offices to furnish electronic health records, Chau said. “What about those folks who are not part of that larger system?”
After getting a shot, whether at a county-run mass vaccination site, a local pharmacy or a private neighborhood clinic, patients are supposed to receive a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with their name and date of birth, as well as when and where they were vaccinated.
The card also notes which brand was administered – if it was Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, the card reminds the patient to come back for their second dose on a certain date.
However, officials have warned the paper CDC cards can easily be lost of forged.
So far, California’s government has no plans for a statewide vaccine passport system, Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said this week.
The state Department of Public Health last week tweaked its four-level, color-coded pandemic guidance so that effective April 15, certain venues in red-, orange- and yellow-tier counties could boost their indoor capacities if guests “are tested or show proof of full vaccination.”
For example, large indoor live performance venues in Orange County, which is in the orange tier, could fill seats up to 35% if all guests show a negative coronavirus test or that they’ve been fully vaccinated. Otherwise, capacity will be limited to 10% or 2,000 people, whichever is less.
But given the promising pandemic outlook, state leaders plan to phase out the four-tier tracking system in mid-June, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
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