Vaccine Passports In PA? Debate Rages Among Lawmakers

PENNSYLVANIA — The coronavirus has been a political issue from the moment the first outbreak threw the nation into turmoil just over a year ago. With the vaccination rate sharply rising, along with renewed concerns about new infections during the "fourth wave," the concept of a "vaccine passport" has come into public focus.

The idea behind the passport is simple: Though largely theoretical thus far, the passport is typically imagined as a smartphone app or online tool that would allow individuals to easily share their vaccination status with businesses, entertainment venues and other entities.

Gov. Tom Wolf downplayed the notion of the state's involvement in a passport on Wednesday, suggesting that such initiatives would be the responsibility of the private sector.

"I'm not sure what the deal is with that," he said. "If a cruise liner wants to make sure everyone's safe on a cruise ship, and they want to have some proof of vaccination ... I'm not sure why the government would weigh in either way."

This is despite New York state already introducing a similar initiative, called the Excelsior Pass. Put forth by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration early in March, Excelsior is a free, voluntary platform developed in partnership with IBM that uses technology to confirm an individual's recent negative PCR or antigen test result or proof of vaccination. Other states are mulling the idea, but apparently not Pennsylvania.

"The state is not considering anything like that at this point," Wolf said.

Republicans in the General Assembly are not taking him at his word. State Rep. Doug Mastriano has introduced the Medical Freedom Act, which would prevent such a passport from ever becoming law.

"Pennsylvanians should always have autonomy in determining what goes INTO their body," Mastriano said on Twitter this week. "You should have the freedom to decide if a vaccine is right for you. Additionally, the government or a private business should not discriminate against those who don't have proof of vaccination."

Florida and Texas have already issued such bans.

At the government level, New York would seem to be the exception, for now. Despite support from many Democrats, the Wolf administration is standing pat. So the uproar would seem to be misplaced. Both the White House and the World Health Organization publicly stated this week that they do not support requiring a passport. The issue originally came front and center in late March amid conflicting reports that the Biden administration was developing a passport system at the federal level.

"The government is not now, nor will be, supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a televised news briefing this week.

But just because Pennsylvania doesn't seem interested in enforcing such a measure doesn't mean vaccine passports won't become a part of public life in the state and around the country in the coming year.

Beyond New York, there are iterations of the passport notion in the private sector. Walmart has introduced a way for those who received a vaccine at their stores to easily share their status. British technology company Helix has also launched a mobile app. Live music and sports are just two examples of the types of events that seem primed to embrace the technology on a larger scale.

Supporters will point out that the idea of mandating vaccinations in the name of public health is nothing new, and has traditionally been a bipartisan point. As a report from PennLive notes, Pennsylvania mandated, in bipartisan fashion, that all college students receive the meningitis vaccine in 2002.

Others have pointed out that the phrase "vaccine passport" itself may be unnecessarily partisan and is contributing to the vitriol and divide on an issue that should be blind to politics.

"The concept of a vaccine passport pushes nearly every partisan political button for Republicans who already don’t trust their political leaders and fear government overreach," journalist Frank Luntz notes in an op-ed published by CNBC this week. He cites statistics suggesting that the word "verification" would receive widespread support.

As a massive increase in shipments comes to Pennsylvania, the vaccine will become available to the general public on April 19. Learn more about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania at Patch's information hub.