Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce join Covid-19 vaccination project to record immunisation status

Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce have established a way of maintaining the database of the people who have been inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine shots. The new model will let users resume work, play, and travel as soon as possible, ZDNet reported.

The project, called the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), will maintain a digital “Health Wallet” of people administered with Covid-19 vaccine and their immunisation history can be found on the app itself.

People who do not have a smartphone can avail the paper version of the model. The paper version will come with a QR code, scanning which authorities can access the health history of people.

The digital wallet will be connected directly with an affiliated lab so that users can show their health status as and when required.

The VCI coalition believes that this project will help people resume their normal lives and can even go to public places and events.

Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle’s Global Business Units, said, as cited in the ZDNet report, “As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, having electronic access to vaccination, testing, and other medical records will be vital to resuming travel and more. This process needs to be as easy as online banking.”

The VCI claims to be convenient as it is a single data repository based on open standards, that could be accessed by many different groups all adhering to the same rules.

The coalition stated on the official website, “This implementation guide provides a framework for “Health Cards”, with a short-term goal to enable a consumer to receive Covid-19 Immunisation or lab results and present these results to another party in a verifiable manner. Key use cases include conveying point-in-time infection status for return-to-workplace and travel. This approach should also support documentation of immunisation status and other health details.”

“This initiative will grow the standards around data exchange and help patients have access to and easily share verified vaccination information via their mobile devices in situations where proof-of-vaccine is necessary,” said David Bradshaw, senior vice president of consumer and employer solutions at technology company Cerner, which is also part of the VCI coalition.