New York Governor Divulges Coronavirus Pilot Built On IBM Blockchain

Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York recently divulged a pilot program to test the “Excelsior Pass,” a solution based on blockchain technology. As per the New York State blog post, the Excelsior Pass will approve an individual’s vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test through a private data transfer between businesses in agreement with New York State rules.

Apropos the development, the general manager for IBM Services, Jason Kelley mentioned that New York has modified the app to take care of the state’s precise requirements. Kelley added,

“Modifications are being made to address those requirements. The underlying technology is the same as IBM Digital Health Pass.”

Kelley further said,

“Individuals will be able to either print out their health pass or store it on their smartphones. A QR code is used to inform the venue if a pass is valid or invalid. The aim is to give residents the ability to digitally confirm in a simple, voluntary and secure way their proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or certification of vaccination.”

Notably, Brazil is also making use of a blockchain-based system to track people who have received a vaccine. The aforementioned solution, dubbed the National Health Data Network, is powered by Hyperledger Fabric and uploads data to the blockchain after the individuals undergo vaccinations.

Even though the use of blockchain for vaccination management is remarkable, guidelines may create issues for specific areas looking to make use of such solutions.