¶ Excelsior Pass
.jpeg)
This page has moved! Click here to view the most up-to-date version of this page on the White Rose Wiki.
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/ ↩︎