BUFFALO, N.Y. — John Stiegler served in the United States Navy, so he had his COVID-19 vaccine shots at the VA hospital. But when he went to sign up to use the state Excelsior Pass as a way to show proof of vaccination, he ran into problems.

What You Need To Know

  • Many people across New York are using the state's Excelsior Pass to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations
  • But not everyone is able to use the app, including some veterans
  • Federal law prohibits the VA from sending veteran immunization information to the state, unless it's mandated by state law

"I went on the state website and I thought I was doing something wrong," he said. "Finally I called them up and they said, ‘the reason you can't get it or we don't recognize it is because you got the vaccine at the VA hospital.’"

And that makes it difficult in times when he'd like to use it.

"I don't want to carry that card because I'm afraid I'm going to lose it," he said. "I have a copy of the card on my telephone, but they won't accept that at the Bills games or KeyBank [Center.]"

Stiegler raised his concerns with Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns. As it turns out, federal law prohibits the VA from sending veteran immunization information to the state, unless it's mandated by state law. 

"Those veterans, their spouses and caregivers who received the COVID-19 vaccine at the Buffalo VA or any other federal vaccination sites are unable to sign up for the Excelsior Pass due to conflicting state and federal laws," Kearns said.

Kearns sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul asking her to work with the state legislature to pass a law to allow this information to be shared. State Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, himself a veteran, has pledged to draft legislation and work to make it happen so veterans are able to use the Excelsior Pass.

"And this really should be able to be a bipartisan supported piece of legislation, I would think, when we get back into session in January," Ortt said.

"It's really disappointing to a lot of veterans," Stiegler added. "I belong to a lot of veterans organizations and I've heard this from a lot of different veterans, so hopefully we can get something done."