SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California on Friday announced it will offer residents a digital record of their coronavirus vaccination that they can use to access businesses or events that require proof they got the shot.


What You Need To Know

  • California announced it will offer residents a digital record of their coronavirus vaccination that they can use to access businesses or events that require proof

  • It will show the same information as the paper cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to document coronavirus vaccinations

  • The record will include a QR code and users can save it to their phones

  • Vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks at most indoor locations

The state’s public health and technology departments said the tool will allow Californians to access their record from the state’s immunization registry. It will show the same information as the paper cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to document coronavirus vaccinations.

To access the information, users will put into a state website their name, date of birth and email or phone associated with their vaccine records, and they will be asked to create a four-digit PIN. The record will include a QR code and users can save it to their phones.

Following a drop in COVID-19 infections and rise in vaccinations, California this week lifted many pandemic-related restrictions. Vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks at most indoor locations, though the unvaccinated still must do so. Everyone must continue to wear masks in some places such as mass transit and health facilities.

Businesses can operate on an honor system in terms of who must wear masks, require everyone to wear face coverings or use a vaccine verification system.

This week, state regulators approved rules allowing fully vaccinated employees the same freedoms on and off the job, though employers can choose to keep everyone masked — vaccinated or not.