New Jersey will allow residents to access their COVID-19 vaccine data via a mobile app, but the governor argues it is not a vaccine passport.
The New Jersey Department of Health said anyone with an email or phone number on file with the New Jersey Immunization Information System can access their vaccination record with the CDC-approved app, Just the News reports.
“To be absolutely clear, this is not a passport,” Gov. Murphy said. “Docket is intended to solely give residents easy access to their COVID vaccination record, especially if their vaccination card has been damaged or lost.”
The New Jersey Republican Party, however, isn’t buying it.
“Despite his insistence that this is not a vaccine passport, we know from previous statements that Governor Murphy was among some of the first leaders in the country to float the idea,” the party said in a statement. “An app that stores our vaccination records? Sounds like a passport to us!”
Thus far, the app will only include vaccine information, but state officials are looking to expand it to include other immunization histories.
“If you don’t have your vaccination card with you or you have lost it, you can easily access your record through the app,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. “Providing this COVID-19 record digitally, as is done with other health records, simplifies access to consumers.”
