FALL RIVER/HALIFAX: The province has released data on the number of downloads of its vaccine passport App after an inquiry from The Laker News.
With a question lined up to be asked during a COVID-19 briefing on Jan. 3, but down the list we had, we sent off the question to the province.
It was a follow-up to our question at a previous briefing about the use of the app during holiday gatherings by those holding them and businesses.
The App was released on October 22, 2021.
According to the data released to the Laker News for October, November, and December, and with the first few days of January included, the VaxCheckNS app saw a total of 84,046 downloads between iPhones and Android-based phones.
At the Dec. 7 briefing, Premier Tim Houston encouraged organizers of holiday get-togethers to download the app that scans QR codes for proof of vaccination.
It seems people did just that.
Between Dec. 7 and Dec. 24, the IOS was downloaded a total of 4,996 times, while the user number for the Android App was downloaded 1,476 during the same 17-day period.
“There was a noticeable increase in the number of businesses and people using the VaxCheckNS QR code reader leading up to holiday gatherings,” said Gary Andrea, spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development.
According to Andrea, overall, in October there was 45,847 downloads of the IOS, and Android App combined; in November it was 24,670 downloads between the two Smartphone devices; in December it was 13,334 downloads.
In the first few days of Jan. 2022, there has been 212 downloads of the App on IOS, and Android devices combined.
