Good Question: No booster info on Excelsior Pass

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — We keep getting good questions about the Excelsior Pass.

Here’s the thing – the pass is a nice option to have to go somewhere and to keep track of your COVID shots.

However, no matter how much the Governor and state officials praise and push the app, it doesn’t really clear up the confusion over one specific issue.

We’ve gotten several emails about this. Just last week, News10NBC’s Brennan Somers heard from more viewers about the same problem.

Check out this example from Christopher: "How do I update my NYS Excelsior Pass after I get my booster? Been trying to do it and can’t figure out how. There’s no option for booster either.

The short answer? This is not automatic. You don’t just get your booster, then the app updates. There’s nowhere to simply add your booster info yourself even though that would be ideal.

You have to get a new pass.

That is something we can tell based off the "Good Question" inbox that not everyone knows and not everyone finds simple to do.

Let’s make it simple:

• If you want a pass, go to the App Store and look for the Excelsior Pass Wallet App
• If you already have a pass, you need to make sure it’s an Excelsior Pass Plus. Those are the only ones that show your first vaccine doses and booster info
• If you have a Pass Plus but it doesn’t show your booster yet, you have to go back through the whole process step-by-step to load a new one

You need to put in your name, basic info like where you got vaccinated, the date you finished the first vaccine series (not booster) and where.

Do people think it’s that time consuming? No.

Is it a little annoying and confusing? Sure.

Why doesn’t the state just change the system – where everything updates on its own after boosters?

New York’s Health Department told Somers: “The first-in-the-nation Excelsior Pass platform empowers New Yorkers to be more in control of their health information than ever before. Information cannot be retroactively added to a Pass that has already been retrieved. That’s why we encourage New Yorkers who are interested in secure, digital proof of their booster dose to simply visit epass.ny.gov to retrieve a new Excelsior Pass Plus 3 – 4 days after their booster is administered. New Yorkers can hold or delete as many Passes as they may be eligible for. We continue to expand and evolve the Excelsior Pass platform to meet the evolving needs of New Yorkers including through Excelsior Pass Plus and the Excelsior Pass Scanner app.”

To recap, to have booster info on the pass, you must have "Excelsior Vaccination Pass Plus." Just create a new version if you downloaded it pre-booster.

Another reminder, the regular Excelsior Pass doesn’t list your booster info. It only has your initial vaccine series.