New NJ App Shows Your COVID Vaccination Record

NEW JERSEY — New Jerseyans can now access their COVID-19 vaccination cards through an app. The Department of Health partnered with Docket to allow those vaccinated to access their records.

"To be absolutely clear, this is not a passport," said Gov. Phil Murphy. "Docket is intended to solely give residents easy access to their COVID vaccination record, especially if their COVID vaccination card has been damaged or lost."

Vaccine passports refer to enforced proof of coronavirus vaccination — a controversial subject in the discussion of health privacy. New Jersey does not have vaccine passports.

In the future, New Jerseyans will be able to access all their immunization records through the app.

Although records are now available through an app, nothing has changed about New Jersey's coronavirus restrictions. Masks are no longer required in most settings, with exceptions such as healthcare facilities and public transportation. Businesses can set their own restrictions, and schools will be able to do the same this fall.

The app is merely meant to make it easier for people to access their records, according to New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli.

"(The app) will improve, ease the turnaround time for those who want a copy of their COVID-19 immunization history," Persichilli said during Monday's COVID-19 briefing. "The previous process involved submitting a request form and supporting documentation to [New Jersey Immunization Information System]NJIIS and the staff mailing out the record, which can take several days."

Health officials in Utah currently use Docket for the same purpose, while other states are looking into it. The app meets state and federal standards for security and privacy, according to Persichilli.

Those who log in will need to provide a phone number, which will prompt a verification code to get texted to your phone.

The records come from the NJIIS. Residents who got vaccinated out of state may not have records in the system, but the Department of Health is working to make them accessible via Docket.

People who were fully vaccinated made up only 1.1 percent of hospitalizations around the nation in May, according to an Associated Press analysis. Currently, 47.8 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to The New York Times.

New Jersey has the seventh-highest rate of vaccinations among all ages in the nation with 68.2 percent inoculated. But Persichilli urged those who haven't already to get the shot.

"If you are not vaccinated, please make a plan to get vaccinated," she said. "People who are not vaccinated remain at risk. Virtually all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated."