COVID Vaccine Passports

[Frodo]

So they've been in the news:

Vaccine passports: How to prove you've gotten your COVID-19 shots for travel and avoid scams

And, like vaccines and face masks, they've gotten politicized too:

Vaccine passport efforts draw opposition from GOP lawmakers

What do you think?  Should we have them?  Personally, I don't see the need for separate vaccine passports when we already have these yellow World Health Organization certificate cards we use to show proof of yellow fever vaccinations (among others), and can easily include COVID vaccines as well:

 

[Blue3]

I don't understand the controversy. Some countries might not let us travel to them unless we are vaccinated. It's easier to show a standardized form of it.

[brucejoel99]

Attn: Virginia Yellow Dog or a Mod - please fix the initial post's image sizes.

I don't understand the controversy. Some countries might not let us travel to them unless we are vaccinated. It's easier to show a standardized form of it.

It's indeed a very weird controversy, given that vaccine passports - also known as vaccination certificates, which is what they're more commonly referred to as - are not only already a thing but have been for quite a long time now.

[Ferguson97]

Yes, I support them.

First of all, many businesses are going to require them on their own. And just as they have the right to kick someone out for not wearing a mask, they have the right to kick someone out for not having their vaccine passport.

[Santander]

It is a complete misunderstanding/misrepresentation of what vaccines are supposed to do. DeSantis is doing the right thing.

[Frodo]

It is a complete misunderstanding/misrepresentation of what vaccines are supposed to do. DeSantis is doing the right thing.

What do you mean?

[mileslunn]

Already many countries won't let you in if you don't have certain vaccines, i.e. yellow fever for most African countries so I fail to see what the controversy is.  If domestic than yes more controversial than international.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I don't understand the controversy. Some countries might not let us travel to them unless we are vaccinated. It's easier to show a standardized form of it.

This argument is continuously trotted out as if it affects anybody. At best 1/8 of Americans travel abroad in any given year - I imagine a chunk of that is Mexico which probably won't give two hoots about a vaccine passport. That's almost certainly not going to get back up to its original level anytime soon. But who cares about the 7/8 of us who don't do that and just want to go to a football game without another nonsense layer of security, right?

[RINO Tom]

Seems an odd slippery slope, if you ask me.  The point of vaccines is to effectively turn a given dangerous disease into a normal disease (at least for something like COVID), not to eradicate it entirely ... which seems, to me, to be a hilariously delusional goal.  Will I need a separate vaccine card for a future variant because I could potentially get it, even if it wouldn't have much of an effect on me?  It's not sustainable to stop people from spreading diseases to each other, and to even kind of go down that path is asinine.  Providing proof of vaccination in the short term (when it'd be much more important) would be a lot easier and less costly than this (i.e., have a literal piece of paper with your name on it and also show an ID).

[mileslunn]

I don't understand the controversy. Some countries might not let us travel to them unless we are vaccinated. It's easier to show a standardized form of it.

This argument is continuously trotted out as if it affects anybody. At best 1/8 of Americans travel abroad in any given year - I imagine a chunk of that is Mexico which probably won't give two hoots about a vaccine passport. That's almost certainly not going to get back up to its original level anytime soon. But who cares about the 7/8 of us who don't do that and just want to go to a football game without another nonsense layer of security, right?

Surprised that low.  I figure percentage of Americans who live within 100 miles of either Canadian or Mexican border is much higher than that although perhaps maybe most don't bother crossing.  Detroit and Buffalo are literally a stone throw away from Canada and pretty sure Canada will require this going forward to enter.  That being said US has no control over what rules other countries want to put in place for visitors.  Any country has the right to impose whatever restrictions they want for those entering and if you don't like them, don't visit the country.

Now if it goes domestic I can see a bigger issue.  Although for private venues, shouldn't the owner get to decide.  Otherwise if a restaurant or bar owner wants to require this, does government have right to stop them.  For those oppose to it, just don't visit companies that require it, so in essence let market decide this.

[SnowLabrador]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

[dead0man]

I don't understand the controversy. Some countries might not let us travel to them unless we are vaccinated. It's easier to show a standardized form of it.

This argument is continuously trotted out as if it affects anybody. At best 1/8 of Americans travel abroad in any given year - I imagine a chunk of that is Mexico which probably won't give two hoots about a vaccine passport. That's almost certainly not going to get back up to its original level anytime soon. But who cares about the 7/8 of us who don't do that and just want to go to a football game without another nonsense layer of security, right?

Surprised that low.  I figure percentage of Americans who live within 100 miles of either Canadian or Mexican border is much higher than that although perhaps maybe most don't bother crossing.  Detroit and Buffalo are literally a stone throw away from Canada and pretty sure Canada will require this going forward to enter.  That being said US has no control over what rules other countries want to put in place for visitors.  Any country has the right to impose whatever restrictions they want for those entering and if you don't like them, don't visit the country.

Now if it goes domestic I can see a bigger issue.  Although for private venues, shouldn't the owner get to decide.  Otherwise if a restaurant or bar owner wants to require this, does government have right to stop them.  For those oppose to it, just don't visit companies that require it, so in essence let market decide this.

you are correct, but so is Averroës Nix

The federal government has about as much ability to sanction these as it does to offer two-hour passenger rail service between Washington and New York.

Bring your laminated vaccination card to the ball game. So secure! You can buy fake ones on the internet for as little as $5. Some states might have the ability to check on their own residents with something approaching reliability, but it's not as if the federal government has a centralized database to check your vaccine status. It's a struggle just to build systems that allow your independent primary care physician to check on your blood pressure readings from your last hospital stay with ease.

cheap cards will be fabricated, and we're too big and bureaucratic to set up some kind of easily accessible database.

[RINO Tom]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

[It’s so Joever]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

You can travel domestically without a plane.

[Santander]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

You can travel domestically without a plane.

Hawaii

And also not such practical advice for someone traveling from Maine to California.

[It’s so Joever]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

You can travel domestically without a plane.

Hawaii

Good. Hopefully they are stuck on the island to give them time to reflect on their life choices.

And also not such practical advice for someone traveling from Maine to California.

My practical advice for such losers is to get a vaccine.

[RINO Tom]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

You can travel domestically without a plane.

Hawaii

Good. Hopefully they are stuck on the island to give them time to reflect on their life choices.

And also not such practical advice for someone traveling from Maine to California.

My practical advice for such losers is to get a vaccine.

As if someone as hysterical about this as you is going to chill out after people are vaccinated.  "VARIANTS!"

[It’s so Joever]

This should not be controversial. We'll need to have some proof of vaccination, not just to travel internationally, but in general.

This is hardly the same thing as requiring college kids to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms or something like that.  We shouldn't (and in fact CANNOT) remain in our current societal attitude toward infectious diseases for the long term, and requiring a passport for a vaccination to literally travel DOMESTICALLY is a bridge too far.

You can travel domestically without a plane.

Hawaii

Good. Hopefully they are stuck on the island to give them time to reflect on their life choices.

And also not such practical advice for someone traveling from Maine to California.

My practical advice for such losers is to get a vaccine.

As if someone as hysterical about this as you is going to chill out after people are vaccinated.  "VARIANTS!"

Haha, nice try but immunity isn’t a black and white thing as you ought to know. Plus Moderna and Pfizer are looking into boosters anyways.
I’m not even that worried anymore personally, I just care about the rights of private businesses to refuse service based on something people can chose to change.
I would think a “Republican” like you would want to preserve such rights, or is your “pro-business” rhetoric all a bunch of virtue signaling?

Funny enough, you and Averroes are the authoritarians you claim to be against when it fits your agenda.

Breaking news: “Pro-business” blue avatars want to force businesses to provide services against their will!

[vitoNova]

If it means getting rid of these stupid face diapers, absolutely.  

[Chips]

Yes.