MONTREAL -- Thousands of people in Quebec have received digital proof of vaccination against COVID-19 after the system officially rolled out Thursday.
And those who haven't -- those who got vaccinated before Thursday -- will one day soon get their own QR codes, too, just as soon as the province has sorted through the millions of emails used to register for appointments.
The digital proof is meant to replace the paper-based version that people receive after getting their first shot and will include the type of vaccine that was administered and the date it was given, among other "relevant information."
After getting vaccinated, Quebecers are now getting a QR, or Quick Response, code by email, using whatever email address with which they signed up for the appointment, the province said. It didn't say what system is being used for walk-in appointments.
A spokesperson for Quebec's Ministry of Health and Social Services said on Friday that 210,430 people so far have received the code. Of those, 84,880 people have downloaded the code onto their devices.
The rest of the vaccinated population can expect news by email soon, the province said.
"People vaccinated before May 13 will receive the same notification now and in the coming days," a spokesperson said, after the province has "time to retrieve everyone's email addresses."
For now, the codes are useless since the government hasn’t yet announced how or when they will be used. No one can read them, either, except for the health ministry, though restaurants have been itching for them to be rolled out so they can be part of the safety measures in their long-awaited reopening plans.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said asking for proof of vaccination is a reflection of the need to get enough of the population inoculated before allowing some restricted activities to resume.
However, with ethical concerns around the idea, too, authorities are being very careful about deciding how and where within Canada they will be used.
In Quebec, just over 46 per cent of the population has received a first dose, and more than 50 per cent of the eligible adult population.
