Show Vaccination Proof at Restaurants, Salons, etc?
There's been controversy since just before vaccines started to roll out about whether people would be required to show proof of vaccination as part of returning to normal with restaurants, concerts, etc. Given the leadership the US had late last year when it would've been the time to put a solid system in place- leadership that couldn't decide whether to pat itself on the back for the half-finished job of distributing vaccines it rushed to market or denying that Coronavirus is a serious, not made-up thing- we never got a verification system. Or even a consensus on having one. At least two states, New York and California, did create systems on their own in the absence of federal leadership.
I actually used California's system last weekend when we traveled to Los Angeles. Or rather, I was ready to use it. The City of Los Angeles has vaccine check requirements starting soon (source: LA Times article, 6 Oct 2021), and some other cities in the county, such as West Hollywood, have check requirements in place already. (Source: Eater Los Angeles article, 13 Oct 2021.) Nowhere we went was checking vaccination status, though. A museum next to the LACMA (which we visited) was checking for vax cards, but LACMA was not.
I've read that while New York City already has proof-of-vaccination requirements in place, the state reports very few people using the smartphone app it paid to create. (Source: Vox.com/Recode article, 21 Oct 2021.) Like California's system which I set up last week, it checks your name against state Department of Health vaccination records and creates a QR code (an image) you can store on your phone. The code, when scanned by someone at say, a restaurant, opens a page on the state site which verifies your name and yes-no vaccination status.
I thought about that again when I visited an old favorite restaurant close to home this week. The restaurant has set its own policy that anyone who wishes to dine inside must show proof of vaccination. The last few times I was there I didn't bother because I wanted to eat outside. The weather was nice, and outside is safer anyway. But this week the weather has been cooler so I wanted to dine in. I showed the staff my QR code from the California state app... and they had No. Freaking. Clue. what it was. I appreciate that this mom-and-pop restaurant is looking out for their staff and clientele with a proof of vaccine requirement, but it's disappointing that businesses like them are having to do it in a completely ad hoc fashion for lack of support from the government and lack of awareness of what little support there is.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/132839.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
I actually used California's system last weekend when we traveled to Los Angeles. Or rather, I was ready to use it. The City of Los Angeles has vaccine check requirements starting soon (source: LA Times article, 6 Oct 2021), and some other cities in the county, such as West Hollywood, have check requirements in place already. (Source: Eater Los Angeles article, 13 Oct 2021.) Nowhere we went was checking vaccination status, though. A museum next to the LACMA (which we visited) was checking for vax cards, but LACMA was not.
I've read that while New York City already has proof-of-vaccination requirements in place, the state reports very few people using the smartphone app it paid to create. (Source: Vox.com/Recode article, 21 Oct 2021.) Like California's system which I set up last week, it checks your name against state Department of Health vaccination records and creates a QR code (an image) you can store on your phone. The code, when scanned by someone at say, a restaurant, opens a page on the state site which verifies your name and yes-no vaccination status.
I thought about that again when I visited an old favorite restaurant close to home this week. The restaurant has set its own policy that anyone who wishes to dine inside must show proof of vaccination. The last few times I was there I didn't bother because I wanted to eat outside. The weather was nice, and outside is safer anyway. But this week the weather has been cooler so I wanted to dine in. I showed the staff my QR code from the California state app... and they had No. Freaking. Clue. what it was. I appreciate that this mom-and-pop restaurant is looking out for their staff and clientele with a proof of vaccine requirement, but it's disappointing that businesses like them are having to do it in a completely ad hoc fashion for lack of support from the government and lack of awareness of what little support there is.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/132839.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]