In A Flash

Parents can now add child’s vaccination status to LA Wallet app

By: Wesley Muller - July 8, 2022 4:46 pm

The LA Wallet app showing SMART Health Card that can store a family's vaccination status

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced July 8, 2022, that Louisiana parents can now add their child’s vaccination status to the LA Wallet app, which stores a legally accepted digital copy of one’s Louisiana driver’s license and COVID-19 vaccination card. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana parents can now add their child’s COVID-19 vaccination status to the LA Wallet app, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Friday.

The LA Wallet app stores a legally accepted digital copy of one’s Louisiana driver’s license or identification card. Last year, the state added a COVID-19 vaccination status feature called the SMART Health Card. Until now, it was only available for individuals.

A parent or guardian can open the app and add a dependent’s vaccination status through the SMART Health Card feature.

“As a parent, I know the importance of having our family’s healthcare information at my fingertips,” Dr. Courtney Phillips, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, said in a news release from the governor’s office. “This is another great tool to help families better manage their healthcare.”

As of June 1, more than 825,000 residents have added their SMART Health Card to LA Wallet, representing nearly 60% of the app’s 1.4 million active users.

“CDC and LDH recommend all children 6 months and above be vaccinated against COVID-19. Now, after parents get their eligible children vaccinated, they know they have a convenient, secure way to access their own family’s healthcare information,” Edwards said. “This new feature in LA Wallet is another important step forward in meeting people where they are and helping bring back Louisiana for families throughout our state.”

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Wesley Muller

Wes Muller traces his journalism roots back to 1997 when, at age 13, he built and launched a hyper-local news website for his New Orleans neighborhood. In the years since then, he has freelanced for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and worked on staff at the Sun Herald in Biloxi, WAFB-9News CBS in Baton Rouge, and the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He also taught English as an adjunct instructor at Baton Rouge Community College. Much of his journalism has involved reporting on First Amendment issues and coverage of municipal and state government. He has received recognitions including McClatchy's National President's Award, the Associated Press Freedom of Information Award, and the Daniel M. Phillips Freedom of Information Award from the Mississippi Press Association, among others. Muller is a New Orleans native, a Jesuit High School alumnus, a University of New Orleans alumnus and a veteran U.S. Army paratrooper. He lives in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, with his two sons and his wife, who is also a journalist.