VaxCheckNS is the official mobile application from the Government of Nova Scotia for verification of the Nova Scotia Proof of Vaccination QR (Quick Response) code.1
Businesses and organizations are encouraged to review the Public Health COVID-19 protocol for vaccine verification.
When a patron consents to provide their QR code for scanning, VaxCheckNS allows businesses and organizations to view a patron’s proof of vaccination status.
VaxCheckNS requires access to a business’s or organization’s scanning device’s camera to scan the QR code. On scanning a valid QR code, VaxCheckNS will show whether a patron is fully or partially vaccinated. VaxCheckNS will display the vaccination status along with the name of the patron. Verification is done locally on the scanning device without connecting to the internet. No personal health information or personal information from the QR code is stored in VaxCheckNS or transmitted outside of the Mobile Verifier.
VaxCheckNS leverages Microsoft Application Center Diagnostics and Analytics to collect limited non-personal and de-identified diagnostic and usage data for support purposes. While offline, this data may be temporarily cached on the scanning device prior to it being transmitted. Diagnostic and usage data captured includes:
- Scanning device Information such as device type, and Operating System (OS) information
- De-identified usage data including daily sessions per device, session duration and language
- Details for QR code failure scenarios including the issuer of the QR code (e.g. Province, Country) and reason for failure (e.g. does not meet public health guidelines, invalid QR code)
- Application code details triggered by unexpected errors.
VaxCheckNS will periodically check for updated vaccine protection rules. An offline, built-in computer process will present a warning message if the scanning device is unable to check for updates after seven days. To ensure that the guidelines and technical requirements are kept up to date, businesses and organizations are asked to connect their scanning device(s) to the internet to complete the update.
The Nova Scotia Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) prevents businesses and organizations from keeping records about patron’s health unless the patron provides informed consent. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) additionally requires businesses and organizations involved in commercial activities to protect a patron’s privacy and only collect personal information with the patron’s consent. It is important to note that if businesses and organizations fail to comply with the Public Health Order and noted privacy legislation, financial penalties and legal action may result.
For additional information on personal health information protection or privacy-related matters, please forward enquiries to PHIA@novascotia.ca.
1 Quick Response (QR) code is a machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs or other information for reading by the camera on a smartphone.