LINCOLN – A proof-of-vaccination app that’s being rolled out in the coming weeks in Rhode Island will not be mandatory for businesses to force on their customers, according to Gov. Daniel J. McKee.
McKee answered questions about the 401Health app on Wednesday during one of his regular COVID-19 updates. The impending rollout of the proof-of-vaccination program was first reported by Providence Business News on Tuesday.
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McKee said repeatedly during the COVID-19 update that the proof of vaccination app would not be required at businesses unless they want to use it.
“That’ll be up to the business. That’ll be up to the airports,” McKee said. “We’re going to make it available as a convenience to people who want to use it. … Once it’s accessible, we’re going to make sure that everyone understands how to do it.”
Thomas McCarthy, executive director of COVID Response for Rhode Island, said he expects the 401Health app will be ready for full-scale launch in “just the next couple of weeks.”
McCarthy said the state is working to ensure that the 401Health is recognized for international travel, by regional partners and other states. He said the app was developed by the state because the paper vaccine cards that everyone carries are “easy to lose,” but there’s no other standardized proof of vaccine. McCarthy said the app is built on a “common platform” that’s also used by CVS Health Corp., Walgreens and other pharmacies, and it would be made available for free through the Apple and Google online stores.
“We’re really hopeful that, in lieu of that official federal standard, this will fit that bill,” McCarthy said. “We’re actively in user testing.”
A spokesperson for McKee told PBN during the briefing that the 401Health app should not be referred to as a vaccination passport because, unlike in other states, it’s not being made mandatory.
McKee called it a “convenience item” for travelers who want to show that they’ve been vaccinated.
“You can call it what you want. It’s an app,” McKee said.
McKee also spent part of the Wednesday morning update celebrating the “Test to Stay” school COVID-19 contact tracing pilot program in Westerly Public Schools, stating that it was able to save students from missing a collective 315 school days away from the classroom as a result of the program. The pilot program was available to Westerly students in preschool through sixth grade. Participating students were tested for COVID-19 each day for seven days using a rapid antigen, and they were able to avoid quarantine if they tested positive even if they were exposed to the virus by someone else.
“It was a successful rollout,” McKee said. ” Now going forward, we feel as though we have a very good strategy for any district that would like to keep their kids in the classroom. … Now we have a great tool to do that.”
Now Lincoln schools are participating, McKee said.
At the same time, the state needs to do more to get children vaccinated, according to Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of Rhode Island’s Department of Health.
“Most of them are still not vaccinated yet,” said Alexander-Scott, adding that there are roughly 200,000 children in Rhode Island. “That’s the number we want to focus on addressing.”
Cases among children have increased recently, with the case rate doubling since the end of October among children 5 to 9 years old, and tripling among those 10 to 14 years old, Alexander-Scott said.
The state’s top health official and McKee said Rhode Island is ready to detect the new omicron variant of COVID-19 that has been spreading across the globe, while waiting to learn more from international research.
Scott said the state’s Department of Health has “the genomic surveillance system in place” needed to detect Omicron, but thus far no cases have been found in Rhode Island.
“We will continue to ascertain that information as it’s learned internationally and share with you,” she said.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com.
