PHOENIX — While Governor Doug Ducey has banned state agencies, counties, cities, towns and companies doing business with the state from asking for proof of a covid vaccine, proof is required to do other activities such as traveling to certain places and going to certain venues.
Todd Kartchner, an attorney at Fennemore Craig in Phoenix, said his biggest concern with saving proof of your vaccine status comes down to your privacy and untested apps on the market right now.
He advised everyone to be careful about where they're storing the information because there are two main risks in doing that.
The first risk is identity theft with online apps gaining access to your private information. The second is the potential for online apps to track what you do, where you go, what you shop for, etc.
After vetting a number of the vaccine passport apps on the market now, Kartchner’s best advice is to take a photo of your vaccine passport and store it in a separate folder on your phone. Then, you can show proof when you need to.
He also recommended blacking out personal information like your birthdate on your vaccine card. That further protects from companies cumulatively gaining pieces of your personal information, and then potentially using or selling it without you even knowing it.
Kartchner said, for now, there’s still time to wait and see if there’s a particular app that will become more widely used than others.
RELATED: Yes, it is legal for an employer to require vaccinated and unvaccinated workers to be separated
“There’s still time to vet it and find out more about it and question whether there are appropriate legal protections and also question what kind of technological protection it offers as well," Kartchner said.
When looking into vaccine passport apps as they become more available, the attorney recommended reading articles online that have already vetted them. He said you can check out their privacy policies online too.
Maricopa County and other experts also recommend taking a picture of the front and back of your vaccine cards and storing it for your records.
If you need a replacement card, you can request one through the Arizona Department of Health Services.
12 News on YouTube
Subscribe to the 12 News YouTube channel to receive notifications on the latest videos about the coronavirus vaccine and the developments on the distribution in the United States.