Please note HiHello no longer offers functionality for this feature
After over 18 months of coping with the COVID-19 global pandemic, I’m sure we were all hoping that we were near the end of this saga. Alas, the virus had other plans and the B.1.617.2 mutation—more commonly known as the Delta variant—has resulted in a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in various parts of the world. Needless to say that showing proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-test is something that a lot of us are going to have to do at some point in our lives.
At HiHello we’ve done our bit by working from home, masking, observing social distancing guidelines, and getting vaccinated, but we’ve been eager to do more.
The State of California has introduced a Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, which happens to be a QR code (and HiHello knows a little something about QR codes!). Since HiHello’s digital business card platform was built around QR codes, we have the expertise and infrastructure to read, process, and save QR codes, and make them easily accessible via HiHello’s iOS and Android widgets and via the HiHello Apple Watch app.
California’s Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record is built on top of the SMART Health Cards standard. A SMART Health Card is a QR code that contains a digital version of your vaccination history and test results (you can learn more on their FAQ page). In addition to California, this standard is also in use by Louisiana and New York. Both Apple and Google have included support for these vaccine QR codes in their upcoming updates.
I’m very pleased to share that our team has been hard at work on a skunkworks project to help scan, verify, and save vaccine QR codes in the HiHello app!
If you download the latest version of the HiHello app, you can open the camera in the Scan tab of the HiHello app (not your phone’s native camera) and use it to scan and verify a vaccination QR code! Here is what that looks like:
With the in-app scanner, the HiHello app can be used to quickly and easily scan the vaccination QR code for anyone. If you’re a small business owner or even just an individual who wants to verify the vaccination status of the people you are interacting with, the HiHello app makes it easy for you to do that and presents the information in an easy to read format.
Saving your vaccine QR code in the HiHello app to create a digital vaccination card is as simple as tapping Save and entering your name to confirm that it's your record:
This creates a digital vaccination card in your HiHello app that you can access in the app or via the HiHello widget:
Your COVID-19 vaccine QR code is also accessible on the Apple Watch app. So if you’re headed out to the gym and don’t want to take your phone with you, you can still have your vaccination proof readily available on your Apple Watch.
These features are available in the latest version of the HiHello app on both iOS and Android today. You can download the HiHello app at https://hihello.me/app.
Your feedback is always welcome. We hope this feature is helpful to our users and to the small businesses who are trying to stay open safely during the pandemic.
And of course, if you haven’t already been vaccinated 💉💉 what are you waiting for?!
Stay safe!
