Vaccine passport program could be coming soon, governor says

BOSTON (AP) — A COVID-19 vaccination passport program that would allow residents to quickly demonstrate their vaccine status could be up and running in Massachusetts and several other states soon, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday.

Proof of vaccination would be available on a QR code on an individual’s cellphone. The code could be quickly scanned to show the person’s vaccination status.

“It’s a universal standard and we’ve been working with a bunch of other states, there’s probably 15 or 20 of them, to try to create a single QR code that can be used for all sorts of things where people may choose to require a vaccine,” Baker said Monday during an appearance on GBH News.

The Republican said he already has a QR code on his phone with his vaccination status.

Baker also said that booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine are available across the state, although it may take from 10 days to two weeks to schedule an appointment to receive one.

The state is seeing increased demand for the vaccines, he added.

Close to 19,000 Massachusetts residents have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

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