NHS app and vaccination passport.

[David Wade]

Actually we are not likely to use the Track & Trace app. Its the NHS booking an records app

but it still needs Android 5 to work.

Dave

[Dave Plowman (News]

That looks a bit above my paygrade. Does anyone offer this service? Have Googled, but no help there. And looked on Ebay.

The S4 has an excellent snapshot camera, which I use a great deal. Perhaps the main reason I bought it in the first place.

[Davidm]

Don't rule out buying a refurbished phone. I've just bought one for the wife (she wanted the same one as mine, now an old model and only a few new ones still around for £200+) for £75 and am well pleased. Not a mark on it, battery holding charge well. Sold by 'thetechout' on eBay. Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)

[Fredxx]

I would be tempted to wait. You're not going to be the only one in this position, and your local phone shop may well become wise to the need and the route to upgrading the system.

The important thing is to know there is a route to the upgrade and can be done successfully.

[T i m]

<snip>

Is that the right term? Shouldn't it be 'Outside my skillset' or similar? I have followed such things before with success and might be convinced to try doing so on my S4 (for you / me) to see 1) How easy it is 2) what I get once it's done (I know I should get a good phone running a more up-to-date OS but such things often come with a catch where even a small one can be a dealbreaker) and 3), how likely it is to completely brick the phone forever, or if it could be recovered under all circumstances (even if it cost something (within reason) etc)?

I'm sure many 'corner' Phone Shops and phone geeks might, I'll ask mine. You could also ask on uk.telecom.mobile as there may be such near you (private person who would do it for a drink or shop).

<snip>

Agreed, that said, I think the S7 camera is better but the S4 still better than many at the time.

For me it was a pleasant surprise, over and above a good 'phone'. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Andrew]

+1.

You don't need a vaccine passport, just like you don't need an internet connection. It helps, and definately makes modern life easier, but it is not essential.

[Chris B]

Don't do anything too rash - I don't think its the NHS track and trace app that they are talking about but a much older one - has been about for some time and has been used to book some Drs appointments for a while.

This may have lower requirements than the track and trace app.

Ie this one

not this one

[Tim Streater]

I still have my vaccine passport as issued by WHO 50 years ago, with my Yellow Fever etc jabs duly noted in it.

[Chris Green]

Yes, why can't we have something like that? It would have to be updated a bit to make it more difficult to forge/fake but otherwise should be OK.

At the moment I still don't understand how one's "vaccine passport" (on a phone, or a piece of paper, or whatever) is going to be validated. The old yellow fever (and other) ones were officially stamped at the time one was vaccinated but there seems to be no similar system to 'prove' one has been Covid-19 vaccinated.

[invalid unparseable]

Same way that electronic passports and drivers licenses are, confirm with a central database.

That?s what the electronic vaccine passport does.

[Andrew]

I stuck my yellow fever certificate in the back of my passport, but it expired after 10 year, from what I recollect.

[Chris Green]

Confirm *what* with a "central database"? The DVLA's purpose is to know about my driving license and what's on it.

Is there a similar place where one can find out who has been inoculated against what? I'm not totally convinced that the NHS is capable of doing this, it's very difficult often to get records from one hospital to another or from one's GP to hospital and vice versa.

Given that Covid-19 inoculations may be given by different organisations will they really all be recorded in one, accessible, place?

No one 'offically stamped' anything that I was aware of when I got my Covid-19 inoculation. Maybe they did but the checking of identity wasn't very rigorous, nothing like the requirements for a passport.

... and how do you prove you are who you say you are from your mobile phone?

[Chris Green]

Yellow Fever inoculations now last 'for ever' so it's valid past it's expiry date.

[invalid unparseable]

That it?s a real passport and that the photo etc has not been changed.

I wasn?t talking about UK DVLAs, digital driver's licenses in general.

In some countries, yep.

But easy enough to fix that with vaccination.

No reason why that can't be done as with driver's licenses and passports.

Again, that can be changed.

Using your fingerprint or face id.

[S Viemeister]

Me too, in with all my old passports.

[Chris Green]

No reason it *can't* be done, no, but *has* it been done?

Yes, but my question was how is this going to work *now* as everyone seems to think is possible sort of instantly?

That assumes that 'they' already know your fingerprint/face, not necessarily true for quite a lot of people.

For Covid-19 'passports' the requirement is that there is a record of your inoculation somewhere that is *already* identified by (according to you) my face/fingerprint. I don't believe there are records like this anywhere.

[Max Demian]

You need a reasonably good camera - with autofocus - to read the QR codes that these apps use for various things.

[Max Demian]

Since Bluetooth wasn't designed to determine separation between phones I doubt it would be much good for the purpose of tracing. And the signal goes through solid objects that viruses can't

[invalid unparseable]

Yes it has in other countries.

Nope, the phone just confirms that the fingerprint or face id matches what the phone has already registered for the owner. Neither ever leaves the phone with the best phones.

There don?t need to be. And passports and driver's licences already do that with the photo.

[Tim+]

Well, my GP was able to look up on his computer to see what vaccine I?d had and when so clearly the data is all being held on NHS computers somewhere central as I didn?t have my first dose at my GP?s.

I dare say it wouldn?t be too hard to make an app that could look up this info.

Tim