New COVID-19 Vaccine App Will Help Determine Access to Concert Venues in New York

A new vaccine app has been developed to help determine whether people will have access to concert venues in the state of New York. In addition to showing whether or not an individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19, it also shows test results for the virus.

The app is called Excelsior Pass, and it functions as digital proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test so that venues in the state of New York can safely begin reopening. The data is uploaded by the vaccine provider or testing site.

The app is free, all users will have to do is scan the app at the entrance of the facility, just like a boarding pass at an airport, and provide photo ID to prove that it is theirs. However, paper documentation will still suffice as well. Once access is granted into the establishment, certain social distancing measures will still apply.

“New Yorkers have proven they can follow public health guidance to beat back COVID, and the innovative Excelsior Pass is another tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

“The question of ‘public health or the economy’ has always been a false choice — the answer must be both. As more New Yorkers get vaccinated each day and as key public health metrics continue to regularly reach their lowest rates in months, the first-in-the-nation Excelsior Pass heralds the next step in our thoughtful, science-based reopening.”

Earlier this month, New York announced that concert venues could start opening at a limited capacity starting in April.