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Excelsior Pass

The Excelsior Pass is an American vaccine passport program in operation in the State of New York. It it officially described as a “secure, digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results.”1)

It was developed in partnership with IBM, built on top of their IBM Digital Health Pass.2)

History

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo first announced the Excelsior Pass during his 2021 “State of the State” address on January 10, 2021.3)

On March 2, 2021, Cuomo announced the launch of a pilot program to test out the new passport program at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center.4)

On August 5, 2021, Cuomo announced the introduction of the “Excelsior Pass Plus” which would expand the program into other states and internationally. 5) The expansion connected the Excelsior Pass to the SMART Health Card Framework developed by the Vaccine Credential Initiative (VCI), and VeriFLY by Daon.6)

New York City began enforcing its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for indoor businesses on September 13, 2021.7)

Functions

The Excelsior Pass initially offered three different types of pass:8)

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Pass (valid for 180 days after the final dose of the vaccine was administered, at which time a new Pass may be retrieved)
  • COVID-19 PCR Test Pass (valid until midnight on the third day after a test)
  • COVID-19 Antigen Test Pass (valid for 6 hours from the time of a test)
1) , 8)
Excelsior Pass Frequently Asked Questions. New York Forward. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from http://archive.today/2021.04.21-171701/https://forward.ny.gov/excelsior-pass-frequently-asked-questions
2) , 3) , 4)
Governor Cuomo Announces Pilot Program Testing the Excelsior Pass at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center. (2021, March 2). Governor of New York. http://archive.today/2021.03.06-215033/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-pilot-program-testing-excelsior-pass-madison-square-garden-and
6)
Governor Cuomo Announces Launch of Excelsior Pass Plus to Support the Safe, Secure Return of Tourism and Business Travel. (2021, August 5). Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. http://archive.today/2021.08.13-172133/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-launch-excelsior-pass-plus-support-safe-secure-return-tourism-and
7)
Duggan, K. (2021, September 12). NYC begins enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandate for indoor businesses Monday. Here’s what you need to know. AmNewYork. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531221228/https://www.amny.com/lifestyle/health/coronavirus/city-starts-enforcing-covid-vaccine-mandate-at-indoor-venues-monday/
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