Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Health passport app could help bring back big events in Las Vegas

Reviv Global's HELIIX HealthPassport

Christopher DeVargas

Sarah Lomas, founder and CEO of Reviv Global, demonstrates the Heliix health passport app at the Cosmopolitan, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. The app displays COVID-19 test results and vaccination records.

Reviv Global's HELIIX HealthPassport

Sarah Lomas, founder and CEO of Reviv Global, demonstrates the VCode encryption on the HELIIX HealthPassport, Wed April 7, 2021. The HELIIX HealthPassport will be able to display COVID-19 test results as well as vaccination record on a mobile device. Launch slideshow »

When the G4 Live cannabis conference comes to the Strip in September, some 20,000 attendees will likely have to prove they don’t have COVID-19 and are vaccinated.

They will be screened through an encrypted “health passport” smartphone application by Reviv Global, a health and wellness company with a presence in nearly 50 countries.

The Heliix app assigns each user a unique code, similar to a QR code. Upon verification by a medical professional, their vaccination and coronavirus test status shows up in the Heliix system, said Sarah Lomas, founder and CEO of Reviv Global.

When a person wants to enter a convention or event, their code is scanned by a tablet at the door, similar to how smartphone e-ticket systems have worked for years. A green confirmation screen means the person is free to enter the venue.

Lomas said there’s no way to completely prevent COVID-19 from spreading unless people remain isolated, but she believes the Heliix app can help Las Vegas welcome back crowds to trade shows and other big events.

In advance of G4 Live’s convention at Mandalay Bay, the organization will host a smaller weekend conference in May at the Strip resort for about 3,000 people.

“Heliix will be the solution for both of those conventions,” Lomas said. “The people at G4 Live reached out to make absolutely sure that those wouldn’t be super-spreader events.”

Lomas, who is based in the United Kingdom, was in Las Vegas this week to tout the app. She said she has been in contact with “lots of properties” and convention organizers who want to know more about it.

Lomas, whose company already operates IV therapy clinics at the MGM Grand, Cosmopolitan, and Venetian, was scheduled to meet with Vegas Chamber officials Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t believe we will ever get a COVID-secure system, nothing is 100%,” Lomas said. “What I do see is that this is a very simple solution that can help. More of Las Vegas could be open with this technology.”

The cost of the system to event organizers is based on the number of users, Lomas said. 

“I’ve been to lots of countries during this pandemic,” Lomas said. “I’ve seen the best and the worst of how COVID-19 is being managed. In Las Vegas, you see that the enforcement of mask-wearing is working. That’s encouraging. Many, many countries around the world are watching Las Vegas … People want to know how this city will come back.”

Representatives of MGM Resorts International, the parent company of Mandalay Bay, and G4 Live did not immediately respond to requests for comment.