April 5, 2021

WILMINGTON, NC—With the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations well underway, many organizations in the United States are now turning their attention to vaccine passports — a way for individuals to prove they’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes the White House, which in March, suggested vaccine passports come in both a physical and digital form, include a scannable code, and are designed to protect an individual’s private data and information.

While many companies are scrambling to build such a product, one North Carolina–based company has been providing COVID-19 vaccination IDs since January that not only match this description, and also ensure an individual’s data is never sold, abused or misused. Known as the Real Vaccination ID, these driver’s license–sized cards feature a scannable QR code, provide verified physical and digital proof of vaccination and have protections in place to ensure individuals maintain complete control and ownership over their personal data.

The originator of the cards, CastleBranch, is an infectious disease screening company with 20+ years of experience reviewing over 35 million medical documents and vaccine records, as well as an accredited consumer reporting agency with strict processes in place to protect sensitive personal information from abuse and misuse.

“Real Vaccination ID empowers people to safely and responsibly demonstrate their vaccination status without having to give up the rights to their own private, personal data,” said Brett Martin, CEO of CastleBranch. “We take a ‘nothing about me without me‘ approach to data ownership and privacy to ensure a person retains complete control over their own digital identities – not advertisers, and certainly not big tech.”

Prior to being issued a card, individuals are asked to submit proof of their vaccination to the company, along with their name, date of birth, address, photo ID and other personal identifiers. A QR code and unique access code on the back of the card allows the cardholder to share their primary-source vaccination documents with third parties – but only with the cardholder’s express permission and consent.

Martin stated that information used to create Real Vaccination IDs is not sold or transferred to a third-party database, advertiser or other entity without the cardholder’s consent.

For more information on Real Vaccination ID cards, visit www.RealVaccinationID.com.