When you make a restaurant reservation through OpenTable, you might be asked to show that you’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 using a Clear app.
If the restaurant has a vaccine requirement, the online restaurant reservation service said this week that when a user makes a reservation through its iPhone or Android apps, they’ll soon see a “Clear” banner atop their reservation confirmation. By clicking the banner, users will be taken to a page where they can sign up for a free digital vaccine card from Clear. In September, OpenTable plans to add the feature to its iPhone and Android apps, in the hopes of making it easier for users to prove their vaccination status.
As the pandemic spreads with the highly contagious Delta variant, several cities, including New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans, are requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid test to enter certain types of indoor venues, such as restaurants. Meanwhile, an increasing number of businesses, including many restaurants, are requiring vaccinations. On its website, OpenTable lists 450 restaurants across the United States that require indoor diners to be Covid-vaccinated.
Clear is one of a slew of companies offering apps to prove a person has been vaccinated against Covid. While Clear is best known for its program to expedite travelers through airport security, it is one of a slew of companies offering apps to prove a person has been vaccinated against Covid. Clear’s existing mobile app includes a digital vaccine card that can store a picture of a US-based user’s CDC Covid-19 vaccination record card and link to proof of vaccination from various vaccine providers and pharmacies.
To sign up, you must scan a passport or ID card and take a selfie, as well as give Clear permission to use facial recognition technology to verify your identity.
Members of Clear’s paid airport security product, which uses biometric data to identify travelers who use it, are not required to sign up for the digital vaccine card.
OpenTable CEO Debby Soo said the company’s partnership with Clear is one of many tools meant to help restaurants get through the pandemic in an interview with CNN’s Erica Hill on Wednesday.
“As you can imagine, providing good hospitality is a challenge during normal times, but during the pandemic, and various stages of the pandemic, it’s been incredibly hard to keep abreast of all the changes, pivoting, and now for restaurants in some cities like New York and San Francisco, providing proof of vaccination,” she said.
According to OpenTable, the number of seated diners in the United States fell 11% in August compared to July, according to Soo. Due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, Covid cases, which had dropped sharply in the spring, spiked in the summer.
