Walmart Offers Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record
Walmart is now providing a free, secure digital wallet that enables consumers to own and share their health information, starting with their COVID-19 vaccine record. The offering will give people the option to securely store their COVID-19 vaccine records in their online Walmart or Sam’s Club pharmacy accounts. The vaccine record can be printed out, saved on a device or shared.
The vaccine record is a free digital version of the vaccine cards distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), containing a person’s name, date of birth, date of vaccination, vaccine manufacturer, vaccine lot number and location where they received the immunization, eliminating any worry about losing the paper copy. Walmart’s digital vaccine record will be available to those age 18 and older who got their COVID-19 vaccine at a Walmart or Sam’s Club pharmacy, or at a Walmart-run vaccine event.
Consumers will be able to log into their online Walmart or Sam's Club account and request the vaccine record as a QR code in a few steps. The Walmart record is available now, with the Sam’s Club record expected to roll out next week. In the future, the digital wallet will offer additional functionality permitting families to bundle their records and access records for those younger than age 18.
“We are committed to giving people convenient, secure access to their health data, starting with COVID-19 vaccine immunization records,” noted Dr. Cheryl Pegus, EVP, Walmart Health & Wellness. “Our tool gives individuals a safe method to privately keep track of this information on their smartphone or computer, while also encouraging them to take ownership of their health data by determining exactly where, when or if they share their documentation.”
Walmart employs the SMART Health Cards standard defined by the Vaccination Credential Initiative, which allows digital vaccine records to be safely and privately shared with other compatible services if people choose, following all HIPAA privacy guidelines. This includes Health Pass by CLEAR, a free mobile offering within the CLEAR app, and the free CommonPass and CommonHealth apps from The Commons Project Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit public trust established to build platforms and services to make life better for people worldwide.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates about 10,500 stores and clubs under 48 banners in 24 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam’s Club ranks No. 9 on the list.
