A Covid-19 Immunization Verification Design Vision

By Roland Smart and Stephen Weibel - originally posted on Medium

Donald G. McNeil Jr., of the New York Times, recently reported that nobody seems to have a vision for what an immunization verification system should look like for the Covid -19 vaccines. The following is scalable, low cost, and robust solution that could likely be implemented before the first round of vaccinations are effective. 

Such a system will be necessary for employers who can legally require you to get vaccines such as a flu shot. Providing proof of vaccination is not new, most parents are used to providing it to elementary schools. You may have already had to provide a negative test result to travel, or to enter a state or country and it’s likely that vaccination verification will come next. In fact, it may become a frequent affair at checkpoints that consumers cross regularly. So how will organizations be able to verify that an individual has been vaccinated?

“Right now, the CDC is handing out little cardboard cards that say ‘CDC on them for them [immunization providers] to scribble the name of the vaccination, the lot number, and the date they were vaccinated. Then it will be rubber stamped,” said Mr. McNeil.

Such a solution is in line with our federal response to date, it’s effectively an honor system and could be easily circumvented with a high-quality desktop printer. In light of significant social polarization regarding vaccination, a stronger verification system is warranted. A better solution would limit fraud while fostering trust in our government’s ability to stop this pandemic.

 It’s worth noting that TheInternational Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade association that represents 290 airlines worldwide, announced that it was in the final stages of developing a digital vaccine passport for travelers. This is wonderful news for air travelers but a more accessible, reliable, and scalable solution is needed for the majority of the US residents. Such a solution should not depend on smartphones which, while prevalent, would disproportionately exclude the most vulnerable members of our society.

Our vision is modeled after the small donor sticker that some people still have on their driver’s license or identification card. These days many states have transitioned to having the donor status integrated into the card design as a small circle, or heart, along with the words “donor.” For medical providers, this signals that the individual has decided to donate their organs to save lives. According to Donate Life America, 95 percent of U.S. adults support organ donation. Saving lives is the ethos that should drive vaccination.

A Covid-19 vaccination sticker could integrate some of the security features commonly used on car registration stickers (the sticker on your license plate). Such stickers include micro-perforations that make it difficult for people to remove them and put them on another plate. To prevent fraud associated with lost or stolen license cards, the system might require that individuals be present with a government-issued ID (or other official ID with their name on it) to get a replacement sticker.

As with license plates the color of the sticker could be combined with markings to indicate which vaccine was given, in what month, and in what year. The design shown here does not include information about where the vaccine was administered or what the lot number was but it’s conceivable that that could be added if necessary.

Stickers would be applied by a deputized party, ideally the organization administering the vaccination. The sticker would come between a sheet of white substrate and a piece of clear application film. The white substrate would be peeled away to reveal the sticky side of the sticker. The clear application film would hold the sticker in place while making it possible to position it perfectly on the license card (e.g. avoiding the security features of a driver’s license card). Once the sticker is applied the clear sheet would be peeled off and removed. Note, for two-part immunizations it would be possible to provide two different stickers to verify what immunization stage an individual is in.

Ideally, the stickers would be manufactured and shipped along with the immunization doses. These doses are already part of a robust manufacturing process that includes labeling that should be compatible with the vision outline here.

This vision is intended to be low-tech so as to leverage standard manufacturing technologies that could be spun up quickly. That said, it’s conceivable that you could integrate more advanced technologies, such as RFID, into the stickers to enhance the security and efficiency at validation checkpoints.

We hope this inspires the powers that be to leverage design to hasten the end of this pandemic and inspire trust in our government to foster a speedy recovery.

_________________

Roland and Stephen share a passion for design at the intersection of technology, education, and healthcare. Having spent most of their respective careers in the startup world, they recently co-founded Therapy Layer, a service the helps therapists and their clients adhere to treatment protocols that are proven to result in improved mental health outcomes.