On Wednesday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee announced 401 Health, a vaccine passport app. The state’s Health Department’s COVID Response Unit executive director Tom McCarthy said the app is in testing and will be fully launched in two weeks.
“We have been working for quite some time for the right national standard that will allow Rhode Islanders to travel nationally, internationally, and be recognized as a group for their vaccination status,” McCarthy said. He argued that the CDC-issues paper vaccine cards are inconvenient.
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Other states that have a vaccine passport app include California, Colorado, and New Jersey.
The governor also announced the expansion of the test-to-stay program that was launched last month in Westerly. The program allows students that have been exposed to the virus to stay in school if they remain asymptomatic and submit a negative PCR test for seven consecutive days.
McKee said that the program is available to any other district interested in participating. He claimed that it had saved 315 school days for students who were able to go to school instead of quarantine at home.
