After Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of New York’s “voluntary” vaccine passport Excelsior Pass program, users can store medical data in the app to confirm a person’s proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a recent negative test result. Users can either print out their pass or store it on their phone with a QR code. While Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis banned the use of these programs over creating two classes of people, other states have questioned how far vaccine passports would be pushed as “voluntary” before becoming a requirement for travel or business entry.
Businesses have voiced concerns over the vaccine passport app, adding that individuals who end up not using the system could be denied entry into restaurants and other businesses. Others have complained about the program altogether. If users got their second dose of the COVID-19 app, they’d still have to wait two weeks on the app before the green check mark appears next to the vaccine passport. They do not include testing or vaccinations that were taken out-of-state and users only have a 76 window to acquire a vax pass and must renew every 30 days. Almost sounds like China’s social credit system. This is a Democrat’s America.
While President Biden hasn’t said much on the issue, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the federal government will not mandate passports, but that it is likely that certain businesses and educational institutions may require them. He said they will ensure things are done “fairly and equitably” but that the government won’t be the leading element of that. Arguably, it doesn’t matter what they lead if they control the narrative.
Fauci even talked about the concerns of a vaccine passport acting as a “big brother looking over you” situation and that it’s a very controversial issue at the moment regarding workplace, schools, and travel. “I’m not saying that they should or that they would, but I’m saying you could foresee how an independent entity might say, ‘Well we can’t be dealing with you unless we know you’re vaccinated.’ But it’s not going to be mandated from the federal government,” he adds.
GOP lawmakers have argued against the proof of a vaccine just to simply participate in normal society. Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff points out that at first it was the vaccine and now it’s the passport, adding that it never seems to end. “We have constitutional rights and health privacy rights for a reason,” he said.
Even a handful of Democrats, including Rep. Chris Rabb, are concerned over technology that is meant to confirm people’s statuses, as well as privacy surveillance if not implemented properly. The government may not lead the decisions of private sectors who move forward in the vaccine passport process, but they influence and incentivize those who push their radical left agenda.
