Educational Program: Vaccine Passports

In the early months of the pandemic, it was touted as the solution. Once it came, it was received with either enthusiastic acceptance, or it was bluntly rejected. Now, in the United States, it is a source of deep polarization. The COVID-19 vaccines have now been available for many months, and over 50% of the United States population has received at least one dose. Vaccine passports have been touted as a solution to the public dilemma of knowing whether those around you are vaccinated.  These passports can be used to prove vaccination status for events and for accessing many public areas.

Τhe Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (AFPC-USA) and the National Press Foundation (NPF) developed an educational program about “Vaccine Passports” to investigate how these concerns are being addressed. The educational program was part of the “Learning from the Pandemic Series” supported by BAYER. The educational program was presented by Dawn Kissi, an award-winning journalist and board member of the Club of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents, and Sonni Efron, President of the National Press Foundation. It was joined by experts Professor I. Glenn Cohen (Harvard Law School), Julian Sanchez (Cato Institute), Professor Seema Mohapatra (SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas).

S. Mohapatra

I. Glenn Cohen

Julian Sanchez

Sonni Efron

Dawn Kissi

Vaccine passports are not as scary as you think

A vaccine passport is an intimidating name for a very benign object. It is simply a way to show who has been vaccinated and who has not, so public spaces can be kept safer and health officials can monitor how the efficacy of different vaccines holds up over time. Julian Sanchez says that  the term passport invokes an image of “agents of the state” controlling your movement into spaces, which does not appeal to many. However, the fact remains that many places are already rolling out certification programs to keep track of vaccinations within their jurisdictions; New York State’s “Excelsior Pass” is one example of this. Glenn Cohen notes that these passes are quickly becoming a way of life, and having a centralized system is much better than a fragmented one. He goes on to liken a national rollout of vaccine passports as a national “highway” that will be open to everyone. From there, states will be able to impose more specific rules for their communities.     

There are criticisms, but these do not warrant ignoring passports

The vaccine passport system is not flawless. Many now wonder about who will be able to get this highly coveted document. Some argue that this program is a “passport of privilege” that could disadvantage lower-income communities which might have more difficulty getting these documents. Cohen notes, however, that this may be “a necessary evil.” He argues that as a society we should be cognizant of these flaws, but these shortcomings must not stop us from moving forward. If the rollout of the program is not perfect, that should be dealt with as quickly as possible, but it should be used if it is generally beneficial, says Cohen. Other criticisms come from those who are suspicious of the federal government gathering information on the public’s personal health information. Julian Sanchez offers a simple solution: the federal government should not store any of the data. Rather, they should provide the basic infrastructure of the passport rollout, but individual information should still be in the hands of local healthcare providers.  

The US has a deeply entrenched notion of civil liberties that far surpasses many other countries.

The rollout of the vaccine became highly politicized, with many on the right claiming that vaccine mandates infringe on one’s personal liberty to make choices about one’s health. This phenomenon is not new in the United States where anti-vaxxers have opposed all kinds of vaccines for children.  Nor is it new globally. National identification cards, which are a given in many countries around the world, are vigorously opposed by many who cite fears of government overreach into what they consider a private matter. This is something that foreign correspondents should be aware of as they navigate the culture of the United States. Vaccine passports are a hot-button issue that have recently been taken up by those wary of federal government involvement in their lives.