Traveling or going to an event that requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination? Just take out your smartphone. Sanford Health now offers a digital backup to your paper vaccination record.
More than 150 million Americans can now download or print their COVID-19 vaccination and testing records in a private, verifiable digital format through the Vaccination Credential Initiative, a voluntary group of public and private organizations. Sanford Health is a verified vaccine credential provider in the Vaccination Credential Initiative.
Sanford Health patients can access the digital vaccination cards by generating a QR code in My Sanford Chart.
Why QR codes
Paper records can be easily lost or damaged. A QR code is a scannable barcode that can be read by another computer. You can display it on your mobile device screen and show it to the venue asking for proof of your vaccination or test results — no paper required.
Your COVID-19 QR code contains information from your paper vaccination record. If your COVID-19 test results are in My Sanford Chart, you can get a QR code for that, too.
There’s no obligation to use the QR code feature, and your medical information stays private, said Kara Duncanson, an applications support analyst and registered nurse for Sanford Health.
“The choice to produce and/or share the QR code with others is purely in the patient’s hands,” she said.
Digital vaccination card how-to
Sanford Health patients can access their QR code by following these steps:
- Log into My Sanford Chart.
- Select the COVID-19 icon or search the COVID-19 activity from the menu.
- If you received your vaccination at Sanford Health, your vaccination record will appear automatically.
- If you received your vaccination somewhere else, you can still use this feature. Select “update your vaccination” and My Sanford Chart will search state vaccination registries for a matching record. Alternatively, you can add this information to the app by entering your vaccination dates manually and taking a photo of your vaccination card.
- Select the buttons to create a QR code or download or export a pdf of your record.
- Save your QR code to your My Sanford Chart homepage, your device’s home screen or health wallet app, or print your pdf.
Watch a tutorial on how to access your vaccination and testing credentials in My Sanford Chart.
If you don’t have My Sanford Chart, a smartphone or access to the internet, you can request this QR code to be printed with your visit summary at your next clinic visit.
Betsy Sittig, a clinical applications support analyst who is also a registered nurse, worked on the Sanford Health QR code feature. She tried it with her booster shot.
“I was really interested to test it out myself because I got my booster at Hy-Vee just before we launched the COVID activity,” she said. “It was very cool. It worked right away.”
What to do with your digital vaccination card
You can use your QR code wherever you need to show a record of your COVID-19 vaccination or a recent COVID-19 test result.
Sittig said you can save a few clicks by downloading the code to your health wallet app, or by saving it to the home screen of your My Sanford Chart app.
Right now, the COVID-19 activity on My Sanford Chart is separate from your other immunizations and visit summaries. It only contains your COVID-19 immunizations and test results.
However, founders of the Vaccination Credential Initiative said they hope to expand their QR code’s “smart health card” features for managing and sharing more medical information in the future.
Information in this story was accurate when it was posted. As the COVID-19 pandemic changes, scientific understanding and guidelines may have changed since the original publication date.
Learn more
- COVID vaccine boosters available at Sanford Health
- Sanford Health vaccinates first kids 5-11 against COVID
- Technology plays an important role during pandemic
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Posted In Company News, COVID-19, Immunizations