How Orange County might provide people proof they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine is in limbo, after county supervisors heard numerous complaints alleging a proposed digital record would violate people’s privacy or allow them to be tracked somehow.
In early April, OC Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau said the county planned to test a digital vaccine verification, likely in the form of a QR code that could be scanned, and then make it widely available to the vaccinated public.
But on Tuesday, April 27, Chau told county supervisors a pilot program for county employees needs their approval to move forward, and that it’s a policy decision for the board whether to offer the option of digital records to everyone vaccinated at a county-run site
Orange County continues to give out the universal white cards at vaccination sites that show which type of vaccine was given and when each dose was received. Chau has said he’s required to give people some sort of record of their inoculation.
But county officials have struggled in vain to reassure critics they aren’t mandating anyone to get either a vaccine or an electronic verification of it, and that any record the county provides would protect people’s private health information.
The April 8 board agenda noted a $3.8 million amendment to the original contract that Kim planned to approve; it covered building an interface with the state’s My Turn vaccine website; tech support, including at county vaccine clinics; support for notifying people when vaccine appointments are canceled and helping reschedule them; incorporating COVID-19 test results into Othena; and adding features such as vaccine verification.
After dozens of residents on Tuesday – for the second meeting in a row – urged supervisors to cancel the county’s contract with Composite Apps (developer of the Othena vaccine scheduling platform) and alleged that any requirement to show proof of vaccination would infringe on their rights, Chau and county CEO Frank Kim said changes to the Composite Apps’ contract are still being drafted. They said while designing the capability of offering a digital record will be included, it will remain the supervisor’s prerogative whether to ever offer it to the public.
“Is there any intention of tracking folks?” Third District Supervisor Don Wagner asked, and when Chau told him no, he followed up by noting some people have suggested the vaccine includes a tracking device injected into recipients and asked whether that’s taking place.
“There’s not a vaccine with a tracking device embedded in it that exists in the world, that I know of,” Chau said.
When Chau explained that the optional record of vaccination through Othena could be sent to someone’s smartphone or mailed to them as a printed-out QR code, Wagner questioned even including an electronic option.
“That’s a decision that all five of you would have to make,” Chau replied.
Other supervisors pushed back. The Fifth District’s Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said the people she’s heard from “overwhelmingly” want an electronic vaccination record, and Second District Supervisor Katrina Foley noted the Orange County Business Council sent a letter advocating for a digital vaccine verification to help businesses safely reopen or increase their customer capacity.
“It’s about individual choice,” Bartlett said. “We’re not making anything mandatory. They can decide whether they want to have it printed or on their smartphone.”
County officials have said they will never require proof of vaccination to enter county buildings or receive public services. Chau said Tuesday that he has no control over whether private businesses ask people to verify they’ve been inoculated.
Also Tuesday, Chau said the county has not yet resumed administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at its sites, although federal and state health officials have approved its use after a pause over concerns about rare blood clotting.
It wasn’t clear when the one-dose shots would again be available at county-run vaccination centers.
“This discussion is still ongoing at the county’s Incident Management Team. We will issue a press release when the date is certain,” Health Care Agency spokeswoman Jessica Good said.
Staff writer Ian Wheeler contributed to this report.
