¶ Excelsior Pass
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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][3]
¶ History
Work on what became the Excelsior Pass began in September 2019.[4]
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo first announced the Excelsior Pass during his 2021 “State of the State” address on January 10, 2021.[2:1]
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.[2:2] The app was then officially launched to the wider public on March 26, 2021.[5]
A three-year development contract for the application was signed between the New York State Office of Information Technology Services and IBM on June 24, 2021.[6] The New York Times reported that the true cost of the project was much higher than originally proposed, for a likely total of $17 million over three years. Further, the outlet revealed that the Excelsior Pass was designed to contain more personal information than just vaccine status, including other health data and driver's license.[7] A followup report increased the estimate to $27 million.[8]
On August 5, 2021, Cuomo announced the introduction of the “Excelsior Pass Plus” which would expand the program into other states and internationally.[9] The expansion connected the Excelsior Pass to the SMART Health Card framework developed by the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), and VeriFLY by Daon.[10]
New York City began enforcing its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for indoor businesses on September 13, 2021.[11]
On May 14, 2023, the Times Union reported that the cost of the project had reached $64 million, which included payments to IBM and two consultants on the project, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Deloitte.[4:1]
¶ Functions
The Excelsior Pass initially offered three different types of pass:[1:1]
- 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)
¶ External links
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 ↩︎ ↩︎
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 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
LaFleche, S. (2021, March 25). Digital Solutions Help Support New York State with Reopening Plans. IBM Newsroom. https://web.archive.org/web/20230602222643/https://newsroom.ibm.com/Digital-Solutions-Help-Support-New-York-State-with-Reopening-Plans ↩︎
Solomon, J. (2023, May 14). Excelsior Pass ballooned to $64 million and keeps rising. Times Union. http://archive.today/2023.05.15-152256/https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/excelsior-pass-ballooned-64-million-keeps-rising-18091575.php ↩︎ ↩︎
Governor Cuomo Announces Launch of Excelsior Pass to Help Fast-Track Reopening of Businesses and Entertainment Venues Statewide. (2021, March 26). Governor of New York. http://archive.today/2021.03.27-121149/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-launch-excelsior-pass-help-fast-track-reopening-businesses-and ↩︎
Cahn, A. (2021, August 18). Excelsior Pass Contract. S.T.O.P. - the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. https://www.stopspying.org/excelsior-pass-contract ↩︎
Otterman, S. (2021, June 9). New York’s Vaccine Passport Could Cost Taxpayers $17 Million. The New York Times. http://archive.today/2021.06.12-014013/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/nyregion/excelsior-pass-vaccine-passport.html ↩︎
Otterman, S. (2021, August 19). New York’s “Excelsior Pass” could cost up to $27 million. The New York Times. http://archive.today/2021.10.21-163822/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/nyregion/new-york-excelsior-pass-cost.html ↩︎
Excelsior Pass Plus to be recognized out of state, internationally. (2021, August 5). WGRZ. http://archive.today/2023.05.31-222250/https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/excelsior-pass-plus-to-be-recognized-out-of-state-internationally/71-434f8c6f-cbac-4d61-a732-ac0e0769efa3 ↩︎
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 ↩︎
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/ ↩︎