Tony, as a non-resident of New York State, this is the first I have heard of an Excelsior Pass. I'm wondering what sort of requirements there are in regard to that pass.
I know that here in Pennsylvania, where we have a Republican legislature and a Democratic governor, the legislators let it be known very early that they were solidly against the idea of what they called a "vaccine passport." The governor said he wasn't planning to ask for such a thing - I'm not sure whether that's because he didn't think it was a good idea or because he knew there was no chance he'd ever be able to get it past the legislature - so we don't have one.
I've been vaccinated. I do have a card marked with my name and the dates and locations of my two shots, together with the name of the vaccine that was administered.
If I make the trek to Troy for Homecoming this year, go up to the Field House, show them my vaccination card, and ask to buy a ticket to the hockey game, will they sell me one, or will I hear "What! You don't have an Excelsior Pass? Go back to wherever it is you came from."
Glad you asked. When retracing the steps involved to get an Excelsior Pass and make sure I knew what I was talking about, I found the expiration date on mine was extended from Sept., 2021 to April, 2022. Did anyone from either the state dictatorship (and a horny one at that) or the "highly competent and always truthful" media let us in on it??? Nope!!! Guess we were all left to find out about it by accident and print the new pass. Assuming what now seems to be the obvious, it appears there will not be any "booster shots" required in the fall of 2021.
None the less, at the beginning NY establishments were supposedly going to honor either the computer generated pass or, at minimum, the NY version of the hand written vaccination card like the one you have. However, in reality and from the very onset, I have yet to be asked by a single establishment to show anything. It appears that virtually all the Capital District of NY establishments have instituted nothing more than the honor system.
But then there is the great world renowned Rensselaer and, as we all know, they operate in a world in and of themselves and of their own making. Who the hell knows what they are going to want from you in order to enter their kingdom. Purchase and wear a NASA certified space suit? Or will merely sending away to the Captain Video Space Academy for a replica of the official Captain Video space helmet like the one Ed Norton (Art Carney) wore do? Will you have to also raise your right hand while wearing the official Captain Video space helmet and recite the Captain Video pledge?
There have been blanks and duds running that place before and there doubtless will be again. The previous worst one I am aware of was a Buffon from the early to mid 70's whose name I am just too lazy to look up. That time it took nothing less than the great Dr. George Low succeeding the clown to fix that mess. Unfortunately, another great leader like that will have to again miraculously fall in to their lap to fix the present mess. Don't like the odds of that repeating and would not bet much on it happening again. By some chance, should they be lucky enough to find another Dr. Low somewhere, the earliest part of that poor souls tenure at Rensselaer would likely be dominated by trying to get many current Rensselaer students, many Rensselaer alumni and a significant number of FORMER HEAVY Rensselaer donors to simply stop hating Rensselaer's guts.
Here in NY the pass is the far better option. For starters the pass prints wallet size with no pen ink on it while the NY vaccination card is simply too big to fit in to any wallet without folding it and has information on it written in ink. In fact, the people at the vaccination site I dealt with made a point of telling me not to fold the original card and put it in my wallet. According to them, the cheap paper stock used for the vaccination card would not last very long folded in a wallet and body heat may make the handwritten information on it smudge and run making it illegible. Instead, they recommended making copies of the card and putting a copy in your wallet while storing the original safely with the rest of your vital documents. Supposedly, getting the original vaccination card replaced is an absolute nightmare while replacing the pass involves little more than going to a web site. Finally, the pass includes a scannable bar code that assures it is authentic when combined with a photo ID (don't ask me how) as opposed to the vaccination card which, according to some news accounts, can be and have been easily faked.
How do NY residents obtain an Excelsior Pass? Start by running a search for NY Excelsior Pass which will lead you to the state website. Hit the get started option that fits you best which includes just printing the thing. Scroll through the long agreement that comes up and click the button at the end. Complete the first screen that only asks for your name, DOB, zip code and phone number then hit continue. Complete the second screen that only asks for the date of your second shot, the county you got it in and the brand name of the dose then hit continue. Within seconds a your pass is ready message comes up and you can then choose to have it sent to a device or just print it.
