Technological difficulties making it hard for some Quebecers to get COVID-19 vaccine passport

MONTREAL -

It's a last minute scramble for Quebecers trying to get their COVID-19 vaccine passport.

At a vaccination site in Decarie Square, workers are helping Montrealers download the app on their smartphones, and helping those vaccinated outside of Quebec get their certification.

They’re also fielding a lot of questions from people with Android phones — until now, the Vaxicode app was only available to iPhone users.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé admits he isn’t sure what was behind the delay.

“It’s a bit surprising,” he said at a press conference. “But I would rather they do the job right and have no surprises as we did last week.”

Nevertheless, some Android users say they aren't impressed.

”I actually am planning some travel and I want that passport in my hand. I wanted it the minute it was available just so that I could anticipate contingencies and get it set up properly,” said Android user Sandy Weigens.

Anyone who doesn’t have the app can print out their proof of vaccination by going to the Clic Santé website and following the prompts to the vaccination card.

However, not everyone has easy access to the technology needed to download their cards.

“People don’t all have a smartphone; they have flip phones. They’re not connected to the internet and they don’t know what to do,” said Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein.

The western Montreal city has one of the highest percentages of seniors in the province and many are going to the library to get help.

“They want a vaccination passport, but they don’t have any clue how to get it,” explained librarian Janine West.

Starting Wednesday, anyone who doesn’t have the app or a paper version of their vaccine passport can ask for a QR code to be emailed to them after being fully vaccinated.