(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the State of Connecticut is now providing residents with the ability to store their personal COVID-19 vaccination records onto their smartphone devices. The digital vaccination cards mirror the paper cards from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that patients receive upon being vaccinated and provides them with a convenient option to securely show proof of being vaccinated on their smartphones without needing to physically carry the paper cards on their person.
The governor stressed that the choice to load digital vaccination cards onto smartphones is strictly optional. Those who do not have smartphones or do not want to digitize their vaccination records can continue using the paper cards they received upon being vaccinated as they have been doing over the last year.
Instructions for how to load the digital cards, also known as “SMART Health Cards,” onto smartphones can be obtained by visiting ct.gov/getmyvaccinerecord. The system uses CT WiZ, Connecticut’s immunization information system, to confirm a person’s vaccination status.
The SMART Health Cards display a QR code that upon being scanned will confirm the smartphone user’s vaccination status. The governor explained that the digital cards are more resistant to forgery than the paper cards, and they can also be easily obtained in the unfortunate event that someone loses their paper card and needs to replace it.
The QR code is based on a standard that has already been adopted by many states and countries, including New York, California, and Canada, meaning that Smart Health Cards issued by the Connecticut Department of Public Health will also verify vaccination status in those locations. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and numerous additional states are expected to launch programs soon using this standard.
“This digital vaccination card does one thing – it provides Connecticut residents with an alternative option to the paper card that they received when they were vaccinated,” Governor Lamont said. “If you don’t want to carry your paper card around with you in your pocket, or if you lost your card, then you can digitally load it onto your smartphone. If you don’t have a smartphone or don’t want to digitize your paper card, then you don’t have to, and you can keep using the paper card you were given when you were vaccinated. This option is just about more convenience for Connecticut residents.”
Throughout his tenure in office, Governor Lamont has made the digitization of state government records and services a top priority of his administration, saying that residents want the ability to conduct transactions more easily through digital means to save time and effort.