Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage and in the interest of slowing its spread, public health authorities in British Columbia, Canada have decided to restrict access to non-essential establishments such as sports venues, nightclubs, restaurants, high-intensity indoor fitness locations, and more to only allow access to those who can provide proof of vaccination.
While access will not be limited to those who were vaccinated in-province, the easiest way for British Columbians to provide proof of vaccination will be to use a provincially issued QR code. This sounds easy enough, but as always the devil is in the details.
The program will be gradually rolled out beginning on 13 September 2021, with temporary acceptance of the printed vaccination cards issued at the time vaccines were administered. I will not address this measure, and will instead focus on the QR code-based system as it operates today with regard to the presentation and validation of vaccine status.
How to prove you’ve been vaccinated
For quite some time, British Columbians have been able to access an online portal called Health Gateway. This website allows those with a Care Card and a smartphone to access their history of medical visits, prescription medications, and vaccinations using the BC Services Card app as a way to prove your identity.
The BC Services Card app is available for Android and iOS, but does not work on older devices. The iOS version requires iOS 10 or higher (iPhone 5 or iPad 4th gen or newer) and the Android version requires at least Android version 6.
Accessing your vaccination card with the BC Services Card apps
If you have registered for the BC Services Card app, you can simply log in to Health Gateway and access a QR code of your vaccination card. The card is NOT available in the app itself; rather you can display it in the web browser on your computer or smartphone.
Accessing your vaccination card using your Personal Health Number
The other method of accessing your vaccination card is to go to the Health Gateway vaccination card website and enter your Personal Health Number (PHN), date of birth, and one of the dates you received a vaccination.
Accessing your vaccination card when needed
To date, there is no easy way to save the generated vaccination card QR code for later use. Unfortunately, the process is different on computers versus phones, and the province has not indicated that they will be improving this process in the near future.
From a computer
If you are using your computer and you have a printer you can print the web page. Due to the fact that the vaccine card is a sort of pop-up it doesn’t print neatly, but as long as the QR code and your name are clearly visible, it should be acceptable. You may also take a picture of the page with your smartphone. Keep in mind that if you sync your photos from your phone to Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. it will be copied to that cloud service.
Additionally, the version you access on your computer displays your date of birth, but considering that establishments checking your vaccination status are advised to confirm your identity with a formal government ID that likely also contains it, this shouldn’t be too big of a concern.
From a smartphone
If you view your card on a smartphone, it will only display your name and vaccination card QR code and whether you are fully vaccinated or not. The app will not store this code and it is highly recommended you save the QR code for future use. The availability of the website is not guaranteed and internet access is not always available, especially in some indoor locations, so having a copy is a good idea.
The easiest thing to do it to take a screenshot and store a copy in your photos app.
Android phones
On Android, to take a screenshot of your QR code simply press power button + volume down at the same time. It is advised you view it in the Photos -> Library -> Screenshots folder to confirm you have saved it properly.
iPhones
On newer iPhones you can take a screenshot by pressing the side button + volume up the same time. On older iPhones with TouchID you press and hold the power button + home button and release. As with Android, it is a good practice to check in the Photos app that your QR code has been captured.
The province has updated the website that generates and displays your QR code to now have a “Save a copy button”. If viewing on a smartphone you may need to scroll down to see it depending on the size of your screen. You can simply save a copy to your Photos folder for easy storage and retrieval.
FAQs
Q. Can the government use this to track me?
A. No. The app does not collect location information and the verifier app used by businesses to check your status does not talk to the internet. All of the information is stored in the QR code.
Q. What personal information is stored in the vaccine card? Can it be used for ID theft?
A. The QR code stores the following information: First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and Type, Lot Number, Location, and Date of the vaccines you’ve received.
Q. Is my information stored or logged?
A. The app does not store or log your information; it only displays it for the business to see if you have had one or two doses as appropriate for the vaccine you received. This doesn’t stop someone from taking a photograph of your QR code, so you should keep your code to yourself and be cautious if you think someone may try to take a picture with something other than the official provincial verifier app.