It has become the last hot political issue, sparking heated debate on both sides.
Should companies or the government be allowed to require vaccine passports for people to enter a public building, return to the office or eat at a restaurant?
The problem has gained urgency in recent weeks, as more and more people are vaccinated against COVID and there is an effort to get life “back to normal”. And, as with other social issues during the pandemic, it is fiercely divisive.
“Vaccine passports have become increasingly politicized on party lines, such as masking mandates, capacity limits on internal activities and other restrictions related to COVID-19,” said Jennifer Oliva, director of the Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law in Seton Hall Law, which teaches courses including “COVID-19: Pandemic Law and Policy”.
Supporters say passports would help open up the economy. They would allow companies to offer some degree of security to employees and customers, while giving people the confidence to travel or participate in large-scale events that have been taboo during the pandemic. Opponents argue that passports would be a massive invasion of privacy and could lead to inequities among those who do not want to be vaccinated or are in needy communities.
Asked about this at a recent coronavirus briefing, Governor Phil Murphy said he is open to the idea of passports for vaccines, but acknowledged that the concept raises concerns about equity, comparing vaccine passports with the requirement to identify to vote.
“You have historically, and in the here and now, underrepresented valid government identities in underserved communities, particularly communities of color,” he said. “But it is something I would say that I remain open-minded.” The federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would need to provide guidance on how states should enforce passports, he added.
Exactly what a vaccine passport would look like, what information it would contain and who would have access to that information remains an issue. The Biden government said it would issue guidelines on vaccine passports, but would leave the details to the states.
It is not a new idea. In the late 1950s, the World Health Organization issued the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, called the Yellow Card, as proof that the holder was vaccinated against yellow fever. The CDC says it is still used when people travel to parts of South America and Africa.
And today, Israel has a “Green Pass” that gives its holder a six-month pass to go to hotels, restaurants and gyms. Residents can receive one after they have been fully vaccinated or if they have already been infected with COVID. Other countries are considering similar moves.
Here in the United States, the issue is full of controversy.
Republican governors, including Ron DeSantis of Florida and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, said they would take executive action banning vaccine passports if their legislatures do not act first. At the same time, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, released a passport for the vaccine last weekend. Another Democrat, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, said he would support the use of passports for vaccines.
In New Jersey, Asm. Gerry Scharfenberger, R. 13th Dist., Who last year introduced a bill to require voters to present identification at the polls, told Insider NJ that he plans to introduce legislation to ban vaccine passports.
“These growing discussions about mandating a ‘vaccine passport’ at the state and federal levels are really a frightening prospect,” Scharfenberger told the publication. “This is getting ridiculously out of control, the labeling of individuals with or without a vaccination is outrageous and a gross intrusion into a person’s private medical history, as well as their rights.”
But legal and privacy experts say the state has a right to regulate the health, safety and well-being of its citizens.
“I have my right to privacy, dear,” said Barry Eichen, lawyer for Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow in Edison. “We are weighing the public interest against privacy. This invasion of privacy weighed against the possible harm that can come from someone who is ill, in my opinion, is not really an invasion. “
Steven Teppler, a lawyer and privacy expert at Mandelbaum Salsburg in Roseland who calls himself a “privacy fanatic,” said from a public security perspective, “there is every reason in the world to have some kind of authenticated source showing that you had a vaccine. “
He said that passports would only reveal that you had the vaccine and would be less invasive than the temperature checks required by some companies and schools that collect biometric data.
“For all those people who say it’s an invasion of privacy, how many of them are on Facebook right now or using some kind of social media where their information is being collected? Google does the same thing. Amazon does the same thing, ”said Teppler. “You are sending them more information than you would have in a vaccine passport.”
“Politicians can shout all they want,” said Teppler. “Megabytes of information about you is being bought and sold on the web, unnoticed by our lawmakers, and are they concerned about it?”
Part of the discomfort about privacy stems from the lack of details about how passports could work.
“If I use my new vaccine passport to travel on vacation, will my choice of airline now have access to this information?” asked Anne Hewitt, acting president and professor in the Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration at Seton Hall. “From a logistical and ethical point of view, who is the guardian of this information? State, national or outsourced for-profit organizations? “
The New York passport, Excelsior Pass, was created in partnership with IBM and uses an application. No personal health information is stored, the state website said.
“When you receive a vaccination or COVID-19 test in the state of New York, the Department of Health receives a copy of your records from the administrator, provider or laboratory of the vaccine. Using the information you provide, the Excelsior Pass searches the Department of Health records for your COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results and then provides you with a Pass showing your name, date of birth, type of Pass and validity of the Pass. No other information is accessed or stored, ”he said.
Cuomo said in a statement that Madison Square Garden and the Times Union Center in Albany will begin using the passport application this week, and this will allow the state to “expedite the reopening”. From now on, participation in the program is voluntary, reported the state website.
Critics of the passport often cite HIPAA – the Health Insurance Liability and Portability Act – which requires the protection and confidential handling of protected health information.
But Oliva said vaccine passports are not covered by the law.
“The application of HIPAA is limited to health plans, health providers, health clearing houses and their business associates,” said Oliva. “The process of asking an individual to produce their own vaccine passport to participate in an activity or service does not imply HIPAA, because that individual is not an entity covered by federal regulations.”
Still, said Oliva, any health surveillance system potentially threatens privacy rights and has the potential to exacerbate racial and economic disparities.
“There is no doubt that it has been more difficult for certain populations to be vaccinated across the country and therefore the imposition of a vaccine passport mandate can now create a two-tier society where those who have had early access to the vaccine can` return to normality ‘, while those who did not have this privilege would be deprived of these rights, ”she said.
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Karin Price Mueller can be contacted at [email protected].