Digital Vaccine Passports Coming to Philly

Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health is working with 16 unnamed jurisdictions to produce a digital vaccine passport system to be distributed to city residents.

The system the city is planning to use is called the Smart Health Cards Framework which is a verification and privacy system that is being adopted world wide.  The city has been working on building an online vaccine database for Philadelphians since before the Covid19 outbreak.

The big question is if Covid19 is not a vaccine preventable illness and those vaccinated can transmit the virus to others just as easily as an unvaccinated person what problem does this QR code validation system solve?

The Phila. Dept. of Public Health suggested since people are now getting boosted so often, many on their 4 booster that it is starting to get hard keeping track,”it is crucial to access your vaccine records when it is time to get up-to-date on your vaccines” said Matt Rankin, a spokesperson for the Health Department.

The Inquirer interviewed restaurateur Ed Crochet co-owner of Fiore Fine foods in Queen Villiage, a restaurant that continues to require vaccine proof to dine.  His staff, likely young and not at risk of becoming dangerously ill from a Sars-CoV-2 infection, were the main proponents of keeping the vaccine mandate in place.

Crochet stated that they don’t have any problems with people’s vaccine credentials paper or digital.  The main problem they face is the customers that have become offended by the practice.  Crochet says he’s lost customers over this.