JetBlue free
books for children
Found in community vending machines
Excelsior Pass Plus supports
secure return to tourism
Verified, secure CDC vaccine info accepted by AA
AIRPORT VOICE, AUGUST 2021 3
Governor Cuomo launched
Excelsior Pass Plus to expand
travel and commerce opportunities
for New Yorkers by enabling
compatibility between New York
State’s Excelsior Pass platform,
which has generated 3 million
passes and provides digital
proof of vaccination or negative
test result, and the highly
secure, globally recognized
SMART Health Cards Framework
developed by an international
consortium called VCI.
This includes a first-in-the-nation
partnership with VeriFLY by
Daon, through which Excelsior
Pass Plus users can securely
upload their verified COVID-19
vaccination credentials to Veri-
FLY, and travel through American
Airlines to Greece, France,
Spain, Italy, and the Bahamas,
and on indirect flights to El Salvador,
Germany, Guatemala,
Honduras, and Puerto Rico.
New Yorkers will be able
to display their Excelsior Pass
Plus at hundreds of businesses
and locations that require proof
of vaccination, as well as when
traveling to entities where
SMART Health Cards are accepted.
Excelsior Pass Plus, a
result of the strategic partnership
between New York State
and VCI, will provide New Yorkers
safe access to retrieve a
secure, digital copy of their
COVID-19 vaccination record
using the SMART Health Cards
Framework–making their interstate
and international travel
and commerce experiences
safer, contact-less, and more
seamless.
“Excelsior Pass has enabled
New Yorkers to get back
to the people and things they
love, helping drive our economic
recovery in the process”
Governor Cuomo said. “Excelsior
Pass Plus will advance
this even further, and is part of
our broad commitment to securely
take our vaccination verification
efforts to the next level.
From Day 1, we have said that
the question of ‘public health or
the economy’ is a false choice–
it is and must always be both,
and as we continue to follow
the science to remain ahead of
the pandemic, we will continue
to innovate our tools to ensure
that New Yorkers and New York
businesses thrive.”
Building off the State’s successful
Excelsior Pass solution,
Excelsior Pass Plus expands
its usage, supporting the safe
and secure return of tourism
and business travel — major
economic drivers for the State
— and providing a Pass option
that holds the same level of information
and validity as a CDC
Vaccination Card, with greater
security than a physical card
which can be misplaced or stolen,
and verified by the State of
New York.
Excelsior Pass Plus was
developed in partnership with
VCI, a voluntary coalition of
570 public and private organizations—
including The Mayo
Clinic, MITRE, Boston Children’s
Hospital, Microsoft, and
The Commons Project Foundation—
that lead the development
and implementation
of the open-source SMART
Health Cards Framework and
specifications, which are already
in use in states such as
California, Louisiana, and Hawaii.
Using two-factor authentication
security, Excelsior Pass
Plus expands on the State’s
commitment to empower individuals
with access to a free,
trustworthy, privacy-preserving,
and verifiable copy of
their own vaccination records
in paper or digital form, and
supports the harmonization
of standards needed for the
issuance of verifiable health
credentials worldwide–signed
clinical data bound to an individual
identity. Currently, more
than 50 countries globally are
allowing U.S. travelers entry
with proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
JetBlue announced its eleventh annual
Soar with Reading initiative, which
tackles the issue of literacy in areas
known as book deserts, where access
to age-appropriate books for children
is often very limited. This summer, Jet-
Blue is taking its free book vending machine
initiative online due to the effects
of the coronavirus pandemic. However,
this will not stop the airline from continuing
its work to help get books into
the hands of kids who need them most.
Throughout August, children in select
locations and youth programs will be
able to access JetBlue’s virtual vending
machine online and pick up to six
books. JetBlue will drop off these free
books with the respective organizations
throughout August and September
to distribute to the kids. Soar with
Reading previously visited New York
City where JetBlue distributed 40,000
books in its own backyard of Queens.
Soar with Reading provides children
the opportunity to start to build
their home libraries and encourages
a life-long love of reading. Customers,
crewmembers and local communities
are encouraged to nominate their
favorite youth-focused nonprofit for a
chance to receive access to JetBlue’s
digital book vending machine. For
more information or to nominate an organization,
visit soarwithreading.com.
JetBlue For Good - Soar with Reading
is a signature program of JetBlue For
Good®, the airline’s platform for social
impact and corporate responsibility
Welcome to
Governor Hochul
Hardworking Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul
to become Governor on August 24th.
August 24. I have met
her several times on
her many visits to
local Queens events
and MacArthur Airport.
She has been
supportive of infrastructure
around the
state and especially
supportive of the
Airports redevelopment
through the
Port Authority at JFK
and LGA. Ms. Hochul
will blossom as the
Governor, developing
her own vision and
continue to support
our much needed local
economic development.
Excelsior!
Photo by Jeff Yapalater
/soarwithreading.com