Last fall,
<https://9to5mac.com/2021/10/25/covid-vaccine-apple-wallet-details/> Apple
rolled out the ability to store verifiable COVID-19 vaccination information
in the Apple Health and Wallet applications. Since then, adoption among
healthcare providers and health technology infrastructure companies has been
slow but is finally starting to pick up.
Head below for more details on how to store your COVID-19 vaccine records in
Apple Health and Apple Wallet.
Before we get started
Right off the bat, it's incredibly important to note that the usefulness of
the suggestions below is going to vary wildly based on a number of different
factors. This includes things like the country and state in which you
received your COVID-19 vaccination, which company's shot you received, your
specific healthcare provider, and more.
Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to healthcare
technology in the United States and other countries. After all, there's a
reason that the only widely supported system in the United States is the
paper vaccination card you receive when you get your first shot.
Before you proceed with this guide, your first step should be to visit your
healthcare provider's website or application to figure out how to find your
<https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-covid-19-vaccination-cards-iph7f
2865325/ios> COVID-19 vaccination records. Once you have that information,
proceed with one of the options below.
If you received a QR code
Some healthcare providers are providing patients with a QR code upon
receiving their COVID-19 vaccination and booster. This is perhaps the most
straightforward and easy method by which you can add your records to Apple
Health and Apple Wallet. The process works like this:
1. Open the Camera app on your iPhone.
2. Use your iPhone's camera to scan the QR code provided by your
healthcare provider.
3. The Camera app should now show a notification from the Health app,
which you can tap to continue the process.
4. Once in the Health app, you should see your COVID-19 vaccination
information and a button reading "Add to Wallet & Health."
5. Once you tap this button, your records will be securely stored in
Apple Wallet and Apple Health.
If you received a downloadable file
Another approach being taken by some healthcare providers is giving patients
a downloadable health record that contains your COVID-19 vaccination
information. Here's how to add this data to your Apple Wallet and Apple
Health applications:
1. Download the file from your healthcare provider onto your iPhone.
2. Tap on the download.
3. The Health app should automatically open and show you a button
reading "Add to Wallet & Health."
4. Once you tap this, your records will be securely stored in Apple
Wallet and Apple Health.
If your vaccination record is already in Apple Health
If you've already connected your healthcare provider with Apple Health, your
vaccination record should already be located in the Apple Health app. You
can find a full list of institutions that support health records integration
on <https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208647> Apple's website right here.
Once you've added your health record data to Apple Health, tap "Browse" in
the bottom right corner of the Health app, then look for the Immunizations
section and find your COVID-19 vaccination. Then, you should see an "Add to
Wallet" option.
9to5Mac's Take
Personally, it took me a few tries to get this feature working properly. I
ultimately had to download proof of my vaccination from my healthcare
provider's own application, then add it to the Apple Health and Apple Wallet
applications that way.
As for your COVID-19 booster, if you received your booster from the same
provider as your initial vaccination, you can repeat the same process to add
that booster to Apple Health and Apple Wallet. I received my booster from a
different provider, and unfortunately I have not been able to figure out how
to add that booster to Apple Health.
Another interesting feature that I haven't tried yet is sharing verifiable
health records from the Health app. Apple explains that you can choose to
share health records with third-party apps when an approved app requests
access to this information.
For example, if you have to show proof of vaccination to attend an event,
that event's application might be able to pull your information from the
Health app to verify your vaccination. One app that many places are using
for this <https://bit.ly/3AbfAiY> information is Clear, which you can
<https://bit.ly/3AbfAiY> learn more about here.
Ideally, this is a feature that we hope to see Apple and healthcare
providers continue to expand upon over the coming months. For now, as long
as you're able to connect all (or most) of the necessary pieces, it should
be pretty easy to get your COVID-19 vaccine information into Apple Health
and Apple Wallet.
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