Yesterday, I reported that the current administration is working to develop “vaccine passports,” which would allow individuals to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination as cities and states begin to emerge from lockdowns.
Leading Republicans wasted no time decrying this idea, citing government overreach as an overarching concern.
Considering that Democrats want to require vaccine IDs for people to conduct their basic daily activities, they now have zero grounds to object to voter ID laws,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise told Fox News.“If under Democrat logic, you should need an ID to enter even a grocery store, surely there wouldn’t be an objection to showing an ID to legally vote.”House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan called out Biden’s administration pursuing the passports for Americans who want to engage in day to day activities, while it “doesn’t seem to care about passports when it comes to illegal migrants crossing the southern border.”“Vaccine credentials would be a complete government overstep. Individuals in America have a personal responsibility for their health,” Rep. Pete Sessions told Fox News.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he will take executive action to stop using so-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports” in the state.
“It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society,” he said.“You want the fox to guard the henhouse? I mean, give me a break,” the Republican governor added. “I think this is something that has huge privacy implications. It is not necessary to do.”DeSantis said the Sunshine State will have vaccinated a total of 3.5 million seniors or about 75 percent of them sometime this week.“It’s important to be able to do it, but at the same time, we are not going to have you provide proof of this just to be able to live your life normally,” DeSantis said.
It appears that the initial reports about the vaccine passport published by The Washington Post may have been a trial balloon, as Team Biden is currently walking back any indication that it intends to spearhead such an effort. The balloon was made of lead.
White House officials said that the push for vaccine passports should come from the private sector and that the federal government won’t take the lead in creating a centralized document proving vaccination.The U.S. government “is not viewing its role as the place to create a passport, nor a place to hold the data of citizens,” Andy Slavitt, a White House Covid-19 adviser, said Monday in a briefing….Slavitt said there is a segment of the U.S. population that would be concerned if the government plays “too heavy-handed of a role” in monitoring vaccinations. However, he said federal officials will lead an interagency process to ensure “important criteria” around data privacy and data security are met.
Here’s hoping that this is the beginning of a very robust #ResistBiden movement.
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