Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of Excelsior Pass Plus to expand travel and business opportunities for New Yorkers by enabling compatibility between the New York state Excelsior Pass platform, which has generated 3 million passes and provides a digital proof of vaccination or a negative test result. and the highly secure, globally recognized SMART health card framework developed by an international consortium called VCI. This includes a nationwide first partnership with VeriFLY by Daon, through which Excelsior Pass Plus users can securely upload their verified COVID-19 vaccination cards to VeriFLY and with American Airlines to Greece, France, Spain, Italy and. can travel to Bahamas and on indirect flights to El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico. The list will continue to grow as partnerships are developed that will facilitate access to more countries.
New Yorkers can show their Excelsior Pass Plus at hundreds of businesses and locations that require proof of vaccination, as well as when traveling to facilities where SMART health cards are accepted. Excelsior Pass Plus, a result of the strategic partnership between New York State and VCI, provides New Yorkers with secure access to obtain a secure, digital copy of their COVID-19 vaccination record using the SMART health card framework – Make your interstate and international travel and trade experiences safer, more contactless and smoother.
“Excelsior Pass has enabled New Yorkers to get back to the people and things they love and is helping fuel our economic recovery.” Governor Cuomo said“Excelsior Pass Plus will take this even further and is part of our broad commitment to take our efforts to safely verify vaccinations to the next level. The wrong choice – it is and always must be both, and as we continue to follow the science to find out.” Staying one step ahead of the pandemic, we will continue to innovate our tools to ensure New York and New York businesses thrive. “
Building on the state’s successful Excelsior Pass solution, Excelsior Pass Plus is expanding its use, assisting the safe return of tourism and business travel – major economic drivers for the state – and offering a passport option that provides the same level of information and validity like a CDC vaccination card that is more secure than a physical card that can be misplaced or stolen and verified by New York State.
Excelsior Pass Plus was developed in collaboration with VCI, a voluntary association of 570 public and private organizations – including The Mayo Clinic, MITER, Boston Children’s Hospital, Microsoft and The Commons Project Foundation that leads the development and implementation of open source SMART health card framework and specifications already in use in states like California, Louisiana, and Hawaii. With Two-Factor Authentication Security, Excelsior Pass Plus expands the state’s obligation to provide individuals with access to a free, trustworthy, privacy-preserving, and verifiable copy of their own paper or digital vaccination cards, and supports the harmonization of standards are required for the issuance of verifiable health certificates worldwide – signed clinical data that is tied to an individual identity. Currently, more than 50 countries worldwide allow US travelers with proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Rick Cotton, executive director of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, said: “Governor Cuomo’s announcement of a unique partnership between New York State and VeriFLY to enable travelers to use the Excelsior Pass Plus on overseas flights is a critical step in rebuilding tourism and business travel, two hubs of our regional economy. The launch of Excelsior Pass Plus and the partnership with VeriFLY reinforce the numerous efforts by the New York and New Jersey Port Authority during the pandemic to give travelers confidence in the safety of air travel. “
JP Pollak, Co-Founder of The Commons Project, Senior Researcher at Cornell Tech and Co-Head of VCI, said: “The introduction of SMART Health Cards and open standards in Excelsior Pass Plus is a huge step forward in making trusted health information available to everyone,” said JP Pollak, co-founder of The Commons Project, senior researcher at Cornell Tech, and a co-director of the VCI. “And as a New Yorker, I am grateful to be able to reliably prove my state of health anywhere without sacrificing my privacy. This is another important step towards the safe reopening and restoration of our fair state.”
Excelsior Pass, introduced by Governor Cuomo in march, was the first of its kind to be available in the U.S., offering a free, fast, and secure way to provide digital evidence of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results to expedite the reopening of the state, even for serious hit Industries such as food service, entertainment, and hospitality. Significant Tourist destinations and venues like Broadway theaters, the free Shakespeare in the Park of the Public Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center recently announced the use of the Excelsior Pass as proof of entry after spending time in many of New York’s largest stadiums like Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, and Yankee Stadium. In addition, Marriott International provides Excelsior Pass solutions to meeting planners hosting events at its 200+ New York hotels.
Excelsior Pass Plus follows that of the governor Announcement from July 28th that all civil servants – around 130,000 – must be vaccinated or tested weekly. All health care workers with patient contact in government hospitals must be vaccinated. Both the Excelsior Pass and the Pass Plus are accepted as proof. above 75.7% of adults in New York received at least one dose and more than 68.8% of adults are fully vaccinated (CDC) – and Excelsior Pass solutions will help reopen shared spaces like offices while protecting the public health of those who return to those places.
Interested New Yorkers can learn more about Excelsior Pass Plus – including how to get a pass through the NYS Excelsior Wallet app – at epass.ny.gov.
Facts about the Excelsior Pass Plus
- Excelsior Pass Plus is a secure, digital copy of your COVID-19 vaccination record and users’ information is kept confidential and secure.
- Excelsior Pass Plus provides secure access to vaccination information and includes vaccine type, location and date of vaccination, just like your paper CDC vaccination card for a verifiable record of your COVID-19 vaccination history.
- Excelsior Pass Plus is based on the SMART health card framework and open, interoperable standards for New Yorkers to enable safe use wherever SMART health cards are accepted.
- The Excelsior Pass Plus can be obtained by people who received their COVID-19 vaccine in New York State or New York State residents who shared their vaccination information with their New York State health care provider to move to safe New York State and New York to enter vaccination databases in York City.
- Excelsior Pass Plus contains cryptographic signatures to prove to examiners that it is a real, New York State-issued credential that has not been tampered with or tampered with.
- Just like Excelsior Pass, Excelsior Pass Plus can use the Excelsior Pass web portal or via the free NYS Wallet App, but requires a valid phone number or email for 2-factor authentication.
- Excelsior Pass is accompanied by a help desk with extensive resources and can be printed out for those who may not have a smartphone.
- Currently available in English, additional languages will be introduced in mid-August.
- The Excelsior Scanner App will be updated in mid-August to accept all Excelsior Pass types, including Excelsior Pass Plus.
- Individuals can access and keep as many passports as they are entitled to, including the Excelsior Vaccination Pass, Antigen Pass, PCR Pass, and / or now the Excelsior Pass Plus, and can visit epass.ny.gov to get started.
- Just like with the Excelsior Pass, you decide when, if and how you want to show your Excelsior Pass Plus. Individuals always have the option to use alternative evidence such as: B. your CDC vaccination card in paper form.
Tom Grissen, Daon CEO said: “At Daon, we feel privileged to be part of the team in New York state that helps people recapture the experiences we all love – whether it’s a flight for a much-needed family vacation or going to a show or concert VeriFLY has been trusted by millions of people around the world and we look forward to helping New Yorkers along the way. ”
Dr. Brian Anderson, chief digital health physician at MITER and co-head of VCI said: “New York State shares VCI’s vision of providing individuals with convenient and secure mobile access to their own health data to support safer workplaces, businesses, schools, and tourism across the Empire State. We’re excited that New York has adopted SMART Health Card Framework as they continue to innovate and help residents and visitors tell their own health stories locally and around the world. ”
Dr. John Halamka, President of the Mayo Clinic Platform and Co-Head of VCI said: “Over the past 40 years we have learned the power of standards. We are thrilled that the collaboration will help create an environment where New Yorkers and the company can enjoy traveling and get back to work safely.”
Dr. Josh Mandel, Chief Architect at Microsoft and Co-Head of VCI, said: “The SMART Health Cards Framework underlines the VCI’s commitment to trust and transparency. This framework is based on free and open standards and offers a secure way to request, save and share health information. We are proud to contribute to the efforts of New York State, their residents’ welfare and promote a safe reopening. “
Tammy Routh, Senior Vice President, Global Sales Organization, Marriott International said: “As part of Marriott’s Connect with Confidence initiative, which provides meeting professionals with innovative meeting solutions and optional health protocols, we are excited to bring New York State secure Excelsior Pass solutions to our meeting planner customers.”
