Vaccine passports are becoming the next coronavirus divide. The White House is skittish; Texas’ governor opposes them.
A wide range of businesses in general, including cruise lines and airlines, have been eager for people to be issued some kind of credential, often called a vaccine passport.
Under a new executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas this week, government agencies, private businesses and institutions that receive state funding cannot require people to show proof that they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Mr. Abbott said that vaccination status is private health information, and that no one should have to disclose it as a condition of engaging in normal activities. His order includes an exception allowing nursing homes and similar care facilities to require documentation of vaccination status for their residents.
As the United States struggles to emerge from the worst public health crisis in a century, the arrival of digital vaccine verification apps — a modern version of the World Health Organization’s “yellow card” that provides international proof of yellow fever vaccination — has generated intense debate over whether proof of vaccination can be required at all.
A wide range of businesses, including cruise lines, airlines, sports stadiums and theaters, are eager for people to be issued some kind of credential, often called a vaccine passport, that they can present to show they are immunized so that the businesses can more safely reopen, especially as the number of new virus cases rises across the country.
Cathay Pacific airlines, for instance, convinced that digital proof of vaccination will bring about the return of safe international travel, asked its pilots and crew to try out a new mobile app that showed their vaccination status on a recent flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. But the World Health Organization, citing equity concerns, said on Tuesday that it currently did not support mandatory proof of vaccination for international travel.
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