Tashof Bernton, MD, an internal and occupational medicine physician in Colorado, created a blue silicone bracelet called the ImmunaBand, which has a metal tag with a QR code on it. Scanning the QR code and then entering a PIN number will open to show someone's vaccination status, according to NBC affiliate KXAN in a May 12 article.
Four details:
- When someone purchases an ImmunaBand, which retails for $19.99 and $24.99, they are sent an email requesting they upload their vaccine card. Customers have the option to include their name and the brand of vaccine they received on the bracelet or just the QR code.
- Each vaccine card is carefully inspected to ensure that it's not fraudulent, Dr. Bernton said.
- The data is protected by a PIN and encrypted on a HIPAA-compliant server. Even if the band is stolen, Dr. Bernton said, thieves would not be able to access the QR code without a PIN.
- The band allows users to carry around proof of vaccination without risking it getting damaged in a wallet.