While Americans are Distracted, A National Vaccine Pass has Quietly Emerged

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been dominating the mainstream media airwaves, COVID-19 has seemingly disappeared from the news cycle.

Hardly anyone was masked at Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address last night.

In fact, Biden barely mentioned COVID at all.

It would be easy for Americans to take this as a sign that we are finally moving on from the alleged pandemic.

Look a bit closer, and you’ll find that may not be true.

While we’ve all been distracted, a national vaccine pass has quietly emerged in the form of the SMART health card.

This digital vaccination card has already been rolled out in 21 states, and more are planning to follow suit…

Your private vaccination status is nobody’s damn business. Making it easy to share is NOT a good idea.https://t.co/xojNEFGFPt

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 27, 2022

Forbes was the first to report:

Even as the omicron variant loosens its grip on the world, destinations continue to require travelers to show proof of vaccination. And, increasingly, a paper CDC vaccination card is not cutting it.

While the United States government has not issued a federal digital vaccine pass, a national standard has nevertheless emerged. To date, 21 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico offer accessibility to the SMART Health Card, a verifiable digital proof of vaccination developed through the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), a global coalition of public and private stakeholders including Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, the Mayo Clinic and other health and tech heavyweights.

And very soon, at least four more states will be rolling out access to SMART Health Cards. “We’ve seen a notable uptick in states that have officially launched public portals where individuals can get verifiable vaccination credentials in the form of SMART Health Cards with a QR code,” says Dr. Brian Anderson, co-founder of the VCI and chief digital health physician at MITRE.

While the focus is on war 24/7, a National QR code vaccine pass has quietly rolled out right under our nose. Some Republican states are jumping on board.

Full story below. pic.twitter.com/PeYhSNNAfI

— Kambree (@KamVTV) February 27, 2022

Quietly and over some objections, a national digital vaccine card has emerged. https://t.co/hPdB3CMsuo

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 18, 2022

NBC News reported on the emergence of the SMART health cards back in January:

Whether they realize it or not, about 200 million people in the United States now likely have access to a Covid-19 digital vaccine card.

The digital pass known as the SMART Health Card is voluntary and minimal by design to protect personal information. It has a person’s name, date of birth and the dates and brands of vaccination doses, all contained within a type of scannable bar code known as a QR code.

And after a relatively quiet start, it has built momentum in recent months as more states and companies have signed on, making it something of a de facto national digital vaccine card.

NATIONAL POLL: Do You Trust Fox News?

“The beautiful thing about this is that this multistate coalition is a coalition of the willing,” said Dr. Brian Anderson, chief digital health physician at MITRE, a research nonprofit, and an architect of the health cards.

Any such card seemed like a remote possibility a year ago, when people first began receiving paper cards as proof of their Covid vaccinations. The Biden administration said in March that it would not take the lead on any national health pass and instead defer to the private sector, and the idea of a vaccine “passport” has faced opposition and even bans, especially in Republican-led states such as Alabama and Texas.

Most Americans have been distracted by what’s going on in Ukraine, but others are still paying attention to what’s occurring at home:

Whilst everyone is distracted by Russia/Ukraine, a new national vaxx pass, the SMART Health Card, has been rolled out in the U.S.

— Mattea Merta (@MatteaMerta) February 28, 2022

Are they seriously trying to put this SMART Health Card (digital passport) for vaccines through while this “War” is taking place…guess that would explain the complete silence on the issue after 2 straight year’s of that narrative being shoved down our throats

— Trust (@try14me) February 26, 2022

I simply cannot care about what is happening in Ukraine when the “Smart” health card is being rolled out in the US. Sorry, but my biggest enemies are still living in the same country as me.

— Tan Working-Class Barka 🐕🏁🪴 (@TanWrngClsAnglo) February 27, 2022

Several states have already implemented the SMART card, and more states are planning to.

In South Carolina, Stephen White is leading the charge to implement the SMART Health Card system, which was created by the World Economic Forum & Rockefeller Foundation.

This system will end freedom forever, & force South Carolinians to obey the world’s most despicable people. pic.twitter.com/WlnEfH3CA3

— Echo Chamber (@echo_chamberz) February 26, 2022