Corona: In New York, the vaccination certificate is secured on the blockchain

In Germany, confusion about Corona rules is at an all-time high. In New York, they are already a long way ahead with a digital vaccination certificate.

In the US state of New York, blockchain technology is being used to mobilise against the Corona pandemic. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the introduction of the Excelsior Passport last Wednesday. It is a blockchain-based COVID-19 pass. Citizens across the state will be able to use it as early as Friday 2 April.

Not only in New York; all over the world people are thinking about the introduction of a Corona vaccination passport. In Germany, in Crypto Cash particular, there have been and still are heated debates. A central issue is whether vaccinated persons should be granted special rights of any kind if it can be proven that they no longer pose a danger. It is not only in the Federal Republic of Germany that people are desperately looking for a way to prove a negative test. However, this should ideally be done without the obligation to constantly lug around heaps of paperwork. However, not only practical reasons, but also data protection considerations have so far blocked a convenient solution.

Corona vaccination passport: Blockchain prevents central data collection

According to New York’s Governor Cuomo, however, the Excelsior Passport is the answer to many of these concerns. It is based on IBM’s blockchain-based digital health passport platform. In plain English, neither IBM nor any other institution will have a database of sensitive health data.

The question: ‘public health or the economy’ was wrong from the start. There has to be an answer to both. Every day, vaccination numbers in New York are going through the roof. Key public health metrics are at their lowest in months. The nation’s first Excelsior Pass ushers in the next step in our thoughtful, science-based reopener

Cuomo proclaimed in his statement. The governor also keeps the population permanently informed about the current infection situation on his Twitter account. The Excelsior Pass will look similar to an aeroplane boarding pass and will be available to citizens on a completely voluntary basis.

Every citizen can determine what information they want to share with whom, when and for what purpose. This is done without sharing the underlying personal data used to create the credential

, IBM manager Steve LaFleche said in a blog post.

And what about a digital vaccination certificate in this country? The Corona warning app flopped for various reasons. As BTC-ECHO reported, the German IT start-up Ubirch has been awarded the contract by the Federal Ministry of Health. Here, too, they are working with IBM to securely anchor test results on the blockchain.