By Daniel Nardini
I have a lot of questions about what vaccine passports truly mean. In a short overview, vaccine passports will mean that an individual has been fully vaccinated against the corona virus and can hence go anywhere. They can travel abroad, they can go to any other part of the contiguous United States by airplane, and they do not have to work from home. Sounds ideal, right? Well, not exactly. The next question that comes to my mind is how far will such vaccine passports have to be used? They might be required to travel outside the United States, but will they be absolutely required to travel within the United States from one state to the next other than by airplane?
Will owners of restaurants, grocery stores, private residences, and workplaces require them every time a person wants to enter? What about people who either do not have the corona virus vaccinations yet, or refuse to take the vaccine do? Are they to be left out? Do they have any rights and protections from arbitrary “show me your papers” requirements from owners in the private sector? So far, U.S. President Joe Biden is not yet mandating vaccine passports for certain public places such as government buildings, and national parks. Could this change?
Some Democrats liken vaccine passports to yellow fever vaccination cards for those travelers going to a yellow fever infected areas. This is a poor example. Yellow fever vaccination cards are only needed for certain areas of the world and not everywhere. For example, if I am traveling between the United States and Canada, which are normally not areas affected by yellow fever outbreaks, then I definitely do not need a yellow fever vaccination card. Another thing is that a yellow vaccination card is only needed for a certain period of time—maybe six months to a year. Third, yellow fever vaccination cards do not carry anymore information other than that individual having been vaccinated against yellow fever. Finally, yellow fever vaccination cards are not needed after an American returns to the United States (only to get into the country, but not beyond). So far, there is no time limit for corona virus vaccine passports, no limit where they must be used, and no exact parameters what should be inside this passport.
A lot of this could easily violate the U.S. Constitution since freedom of movement is part of the fabric of American society. If certain people with vaccine passports can go places and those who do not cannot, then what about those who are being shut out of society? Also, these passports could have personal health information on them that individuals may not want to share in public. What about a person’s private health care concerns? Do they want to share such information in public? At this moment, as more people are getting the corona virus vaccinations, there are people who are hesitant to get the vaccination over the fear their private health data could become public knowledge. A mandatory vaccine passport might be a step into the wrong direction. I hope this type of thing does not become reality.
Vaccine Passports
By Daniel Nardini
Will owners of restaurants, grocery stores, private residences, and workplaces require them every time a person wants to enter? What about people who either do not have the corona virus vaccinations yet, or refuse to take the vaccine do? Are they to be left out? Do they have any rights and protections from arbitrary “show me your papers” requirements from owners in the private sector? So far, U.S. President Joe Biden is not yet mandating vaccine passports for certain public places such as government buildings, and national parks. Could this change?
Some Democrats liken vaccine passports to yellow fever vaccination cards for those travelers going to a yellow fever infected areas. This is a poor example. Yellow fever vaccination cards are only needed for certain areas of the world and not everywhere. For example, if I am traveling between the United States and Canada, which are normally not areas affected by yellow fever outbreaks, then I definitely do not need a yellow fever vaccination card. Another thing is that a yellow vaccination card is only needed for a certain period of time—maybe six months to a year. Third, yellow fever vaccination cards do not carry anymore information other than that individual having been vaccinated against yellow fever. Finally, yellow fever vaccination cards are not needed after an American returns to the United States (only to get into the country, but not beyond). So far, there is no time limit for corona virus vaccine passports, no limit where they must be used, and no exact parameters what should be inside this passport.
A lot of this could easily violate the U.S. Constitution since freedom of movement is part of the fabric of American society. If certain people with vaccine passports can go places and those who do not cannot, then what about those who are being shut out of society? Also, these passports could have personal health information on them that individuals may not want to share in public. What about a person’s private health care concerns? Do they want to share such information in public? At this moment, as more people are getting the corona virus vaccinations, there are people who are hesitant to get the vaccination over the fear their private health data could become public knowledge. A mandatory vaccine passport might be a step into the wrong direction. I hope this type of thing does not become reality.