Here's how to use Connecticut's SMART Health Card to show vaccination status on your phone

Connecticut rolled out digital COVID-19 vaccination cards this month, as optional alternatives to paper cards.

"If you don’t want to carry your paper card around with you in your pocket, or if you lost your card, then you can digitally load it onto your smartphone," Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is quoted saying in a press release from the state. "If you don’t have a smartphone or don’t want to digitize your paper card, then you don’t have to, and you can keep using the paper card you were given when you were vaccinated."

Pitched as a convenience, the new digital option, called a SMART Health Card, can be stored and shown on a smartphone, though it is not a phone app. Connecticut residents can now download their vaccination statuses from healthcare providers' digital databases - such as a MyChart account - or the state's immunization website CT WiZ.

The downloaded status saves as a QR code that can be scanned by a business or agency that requires vaccination.

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How do I download my SMART Health Card?

Use your phone to go to the state's immunization registry at ct.gov/getmyvaccinerecord, tap "Go to CT WiZ public portal," and follow the directions. You can also ask your healthcare provider.

Once you have the QR code that proves your vaccination status, you can print it or store it on your phone. Detailed directions for storing it on your phone can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section of ct.gov/getmyvaccinerecord.

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The state website recommends saving the code as a PDF in your phone's documents, or taking a screenshot to save as a photo, marking the photo as a favorite to find more easily.

Both iPhones and Androids also have apps where you can store your SMART Health Card, making it accessible through an icon on your home screen, for example. The state website suggests using Apple Wallet and Health or CommonPass for iPhones and CommonHealth for Androids.

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What about booster shots?

To update your digital vaccination to show booster shots, delete any card downloaded prior to receiving the booster and download your updated record, checking that the new record shows your booster.

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If it does not, check with your healthcare provider, who may not have updated your record yet.

The associated app for Android phones does not show booster shots, according to the state website, but that doesn't affect the data stored in the QR code.

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Where can I use my SMART Health Card?

SMART Health Cards are currently used in a handful of countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan, according to parent organization VCI. The Connecticut press release said New York and California currently use them, and that Massachusetts and Rhode Island are expected to launch programs using the standard soon.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: CT SMART Health Card: COVID app proves you have a COVID vaccine