NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Amid the implementation of New York City's vaccination mandate for indoor activities, the state app — the Excelsior Pass — which reportedly more than three million people have already downloaded, is expected to cost close to $27 million.
The New York Times reports that the app, which allows state residents to access a QR code that can be verified and stored on a smartphone or printed out and is generated 14 days after a final COVID-19 shot, is far more expensive than the $17 million the project was expected to cost over three years.
New York added over $656,000 for technical support and updates as a second phase of the app, Excelsior Pass Plus, cost $4.7 million, according to the latest contract the Times and tech advocacy group — the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project — obtained from developer I.B.M. and the state.
“We always said that Excelsior Pass would be a high-tech distraction from real public health measures, but we had no idea the price would go up this high,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, to the Times. “Even as New Yorkers find themselves on the hook for millions more, the app still isn’t able to do a lot of the basics.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the Excelsior Pass in late March, arguing the app is a "tool in our new toolbox to fight the virus while allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen safely and keeping personal information secure."
Cuomo's office did not immediately return to comment on the Times' report.
Cost concerns and raised issues about accessibility — including difficulty finding their appropriate passes as well as registries with outdated information — come as the paper notes a third phase of the app is reportedly set to include data from New Jersey and Vermont and include an ability to store and track booster shot data.
That phase of the app is expected to cost $6.7 million.