With more than two-thirds of the US now partially vaccinated against COVID-19 (and almost 60% fully vaccinated), more than 200 million vaccine cards have been handed out to the populace. These cards have become incredibly important as proof of vaccination is usually needed to attend colleges, enjoy live events, travel, and pursue other activities. Moreover, the White House recently told businesses to proceed with their own vaccine mandate, meaning companies in America with 100 or more employees will need to ensure that their workers have been fully vaccinated by January 4th.
Maintaining a near postcard sized vaccination card in one’s purse or wallet is not convenient, and many Americans have gone as far as laminating their cards to keep them in better condition for the long-term. There’s a simple, digital solution to this problem, however. The CDC recommends snapping a photo of your card to store on your smartphone. Many states, including New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, and others, also now offer their own vaccination card apps for residents. A third option, which will be attractive to consumers who’ve grown accustomed to using their mobile wallets for transactions, is to add the vaccine card to Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
The iOS version is particularly handy as Apple Watch users can also display their vaccine cards on their watch displays with the latest WatchOS update. According to Interpret’s New Media Measure®, iPhone owners are much more likely to use a mobile wallet than Android or Samsung phone owners. While 41% of iPhone owners report using Apple Pay in the past three months, that figure falls to 27% of Android owners who use Google Pay, and just 21% of Samsung phone owners who use Samsung Pay.
With vaccine boosters now being distributed and coronavirus cases continuing to fall across the country, some are optimistic that the pandemic may be finally winding down. Even so, it’s likely that vaccine cards will be a necessary document to keep handy, whether physically or digitally, for some time to come.
