Will Vaccine Passport Kiosks Catch On As A Common Tool For Safe Access To Venues?
August 13, 2021 by Dave Haynes
In the early months of the pandemic, there was a flurry of activity in the area of kiosks and tablets that were adapted for use as automated temperature screening kiosks for everything from airports to workplaces and even retail.
I’ve seen little evidence, in terms of announcements or case studies, to suggest they ever really caught on. Some of that owed to the differing quality of the sensors and a lot of other variables that could cause false readings. I think a lot of potential customers saw how rapidly COVID information was evolving and wondered if these units had more than short-term applicability.
Some of the products – not all, but definitely some – were not a lot more than hygiene theater. They offered the appearance of safety without really accomplishing that.
We’re in a different situation now, and vaccines are the real health security. So we may well be shifting to a situation in which technology will play a big part in briskly handling the use of so-called vaccine passports that act as gatekeepers for access into all kinds of different venues.
For those people who bewilderingly don’t think they need to get vaxxed, or somehow think potential side effects outweigh the clear benefits, they won’t gain access to certain places and activities.
So just like you may scan the QR or bar code on a boarding pass to get you through airport screening and the boarding gate, kiosks and readers may very well grow common for many other scenarios that want to let people in but keep COVID out and their patrons and staff safe.
Vaccine Passport Kiosks – Vaccination Status Check – Where and How Are They Being Used
By Craig Keefner
If you are into kiosks and self-service, Kiosk Industry is your destination.
More and more businesses are requiring vaccination for employees. Along with that are restaurants (New York e.g.) where patrons need to be checked. Meanwhile, FDA approval is imminent and could become a watershed event
Immigration and travel passport kiosks now have to consider vaccination status
What is the evolving landscape for “Vaccine Check-In Credentials” then?
In Europe — The EUDCC — Presented as a QR code, the traveller can choose to carry either a digital or paper certificate. Countries are obliged to accept vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA): Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson.See separate writeup.
In the US –– CLEAR has the most robust system at this point, not only operating in airports but also extended to hospitality venues such as hotels. Many of the temperature sensing kiosks came with barcode scanners. They could provide some level of authorization based on the data while also never storing any data (a variant of PCI validation)
Obviously this is a developing story and we will post periodic updates here. Thanks KioWare for the info at Google API. Contact KioWare for more information on implementation.
Digital Health Record News
- EU Digital COVID Certificate Kiosks – news, explanation and picture of latest Chinese offering to serve the market
- Google Launches COVID Card API — Those eligible — Healthcare systems or providers (e.g. CVS Health, UK National Health Service, UnitedHealth Group, Kaiser Permanente, French national healthcare system, Netcare (South Africa), One Medical, etc.). We now have Interpreted Data and Un-Interpreted Data.
Organizations authorized by public health authorities to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and/or testing - Healthvana – they serve California and primarily municipalities. Here is CEO in April 2021 talking specifically about vaccine passports.
- Ping Identity — serving the corporate and state government. 3 Billion records and used here in Colorado. Users are Tesco, Netflix, HP, Slack, VMware, Thales, JamF…Integrations include Office365, Zoom, Salesforce and others.
- COVID Travel — Will you need a COVID-19 ‘vaccine passport’ to travel? Here’s what they are and how they might work
- China — China always is the first to jump on the bandwagon and offer something 3X cheaper than anyone else. Checking Alibaba we don’t see any models for sale yet.
Privacy Requirements for Google
- Usage of the Google Pay Passes API for COVID Cards must comply with the following requirements:
- You must ensure that COVID Cards reveal the minimum amount of personally identifiable information (e.g. name, date of birth) required to achieve their purpose.
- You must comprehensively disclose all data types you plan to reveal when onboarding. For any data types not listed below, you must include a rationale for why this data type is required for your use case. COVID Cards may, but are not required to, include the following:
- COVID-19 Vaccine Information
- Vaccine code (e.g., CVX), vaccine generic description, or vaccine manufacturer
- Date of vaccination
- Lot number
- Dose number
- Administering facility
- Future dose appointment details
- COVID-19 Test Information
- Test code (e.g., LOINC) or test description
- Test result
- Date of testing
- Administering facility
- Issuer information (name in plaintext, public key, digital signature, contact information)
- Patient Name
- Patient Date of Birth
- *Entry Eligibility Recommendation, i.e. an interpretation of an end user’s vaccination and/or testing status to determine eligibility to enter a particular space or participate in a particular activity (Note that COVID Cards using this data field are subject to additional eligibility requirements detailed above)
- *Expiration Date and Time (Note that COVID Cards using this data field are subject to additional eligibility requirements detailed above)
- Identity Assurance Level
- COVID-19 Vaccine Information
- You must not include or transmit any other sensitive personally identifiable information (e.g. government IDs, social security numbers, patient IDs, health worker IDs) without prior authorization.
With COVID-19 cases once again on the rise, mass concern over the spread of the Delta variant and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) once again suggesting that even fully vaccinated people wear masks in areas of substantial or high transmission, many are pushing back against the sense of “back to normal” that pervaded in June and the better part of July.
Celebrity restaurateur Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, for one, has announced that all the group’s restaurants will require staff to be vaccinated and will require diners to show proof of vaccine starting Sept. 7. Many New York City bars and restaurants already require proof of vaccine, with the state’s mobile “Excelsior Pass” making screening easier for many establishments.
“This is the most logical thing I’ve ever seen — I’m not a scientist, but I know how to read data,” Meyer said, appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “And what I see is that this is a crisis of people who have not been vaccinated, and I feel strong responsibility, on our part as business leaders, to take care of our team and our guests, and that’s what we’re doing.”
This week, the Venetian announced it’s implemented the digital health pass technology in hopes to speed up the return to conventions and trade shows. The health pass will only be used for events and not for regular resort guests.
“They will have the option to leverage CLEAR’s Health Pass for a frictionless and secure COVID-19 screening solution that is specific to their individual event needs,” a Venetian spokesperson said.
CLEAR also has a partnership with MGM Resorts, and the technology is used at Vegas Golden Knights games.
The next step for the company is a proof of vaccination option, which is coming soon.
“Just like the COVID testing, you’ll be able to clearly establish a link to your vaccine provider … whether you’re headed to a Las Vegas Knights game or event at the Venetian, you’ll have an opportunity to prove you’re vaccinated,” Perrin said.
“I think the problem with a vaccine passport is it may violate a tentative privacy that’s really an essential part of medical ethics,” UNLV School of Medicine Dean Marc Kahn said.
According to Kahn, laws in place to ensure privacy of medical information could stand in the way of businesses and governments requiring digital passports.
“Having to provide proof you’ve been vaccinated is better for the population than not doing that and hence ethically defensible,” Kahn said. “All in all I think a vaccine passport is actually a good idea in the setting of this active pandemic.”
This June, the European Union will initiate its Digital Green Certificate, or vaccination passport, available in paper form that includes a digital QR code. The passport is available to vaccinated EU citizens or those with antibodies proving they had the virus.
China recently eased travel restrictions on foreigners able to certify they were inoculated. However, only Chinese vaccines are acceptable despite being hard to find in Western countries.
Japan is one of the latest countries to join Denmark to provide citizens with vaccine passports. Popular tourist destinations such as Greece, Iceland and Belize are welcoming fully vaccinated tourists this summer.
The travel industry is not alone in developing health passes. Israel’s internal “green passport” incorporates QR codes to enable fully vaccinated citizens access to gyms and other recreational and cultural facilities. Los Angeles County residents may request their vaccine records for digital display using smartphones with the Apple Wallet or Google Pay app. Another vaccine app to help restart the live performance industry is in development by Ticketmaster, an international ticket sales and distribution company. Healthcare, education and other industries are exploring versions of vaccine passports.
A successful passport must meet a wide range of public and private organizations’ requirements, ranging from airlines to international customs booths and hotel conference halls. An executive of the Star Alliance, a group of 26 airlines worldwide, recently called on an organization such as the Group of 7 leading industrial nations to set vaccine passports standards. Without a widespread agreement, people may require multiple documents for various activities. There are currently at least 17 active passport initiatives in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom and that number is growing every day.
Non-governmental organizations are seeking common ground. The Vaccination Credential Initiative, which includes the Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce and more than 220 other organizations, is looking to verify COVID-19 and other vaccinations via a standardized smartphone app or paper document.
Here are the selling points for CLEAR and they point to many partners on their website.
Instant, easy access — Using the CLEAR app, you can enroll and complete your Health Pass on your personal device from the comfort of your home.
Integrated Lab Results — Easily integrate your latest COVID-19 lab result with access to over 30,000 labs. Just complete a one-time account link between your CLEAR and lab account.
COVID-19 vaccine validation – After you’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine, you can securely link your provider with CLEAR to confirm your vaccination status in an easy and privacy-preserving way.
Health survey — Take a real-time health survey to screen for possible symptoms and determine if you may be at risk.
Optional hardware — A CLEAR kiosk at the venue takes touchless temperature, integrating the result into the Health Pass. It’s the perfect add-on to enhance safety and streamline operations.
Prioritized user privacy — CLEAR is the trusted industry leader among consumers and businesses. Enrollees are in control and can trust that their data is protected.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Craig Keefner is the editor and author for most Kiosk Association and kiosk industry. With over 25 years in the kiosk industry and experience in large and small kiosk solutions, Craig is widely considered to be an expert in the field. Major kiosk projects for him include Verizon Bill Pay kiosk and hundreds of others.
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