New York releases Excelsior Pass Plus, says move will ease traveling, records access

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)— New York State is expanding on its vaccine pass program in a move it says will help make travel, and getting access to your records, easier.

The state Thursday announced the launch of Excelsior Pass Plus, which uses SMART Health Cards Framework, a system the state says provides the same information as your physical vaccine card, minus the risk of losing the card. Its currently in use in several other states.

Additionally, the state is partnering with VeriFLY by Daon, a program that will allow you to upload your information to its system to fly direct American Airlines flights to several countries including Greece, France, the Bahamas, Italy, and Spain. There are plans to expand the list.

The announcement comes just days after Gov.Andrew Cuomo mandated New York State employees get vaccinated, or face weekly testing. Under new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some local businesses have either added universal masking guidance, or, outright requiring proof of vaccination.

See our previous story on the regular Excelsior Pass here.

More information on the program can be found here. For any other pass questions, check out this FAQ page.