Charlie Baker says ‘no’ to vaccine passports in Massachusetts
There will be no vaccine verification system in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said, even as other states mull so-called “vaccine passports” to expedite reopening.
“I think having a conversation about creating a barrier before people have even had an opportunity to be eligible to be vaccinated — let’s focus on getting people vaccinated,” Baker said Wednesday, replying only “no” to reporters’ questions about a state vaccine passport system.
The Republican governor’s stance came the day after two lawmakers sent a letter urging Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito to develop a “robust framework” for vaccine verification as other states move forward with plans.
“Vaccine passes will allow us to live with the virus without having to impose costly lockdowns. People will feel more comfortable getting on airplanes or going to sports arenas if they know others there have been vaccinated … we can re-open our economy more fully without compromising public health,” Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, and Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, D-Methuen, wrote in the Tuesday letter. “We need to confront this issue now. We need standards now.”
Finegold described the passport system as a “tradeoff” for normalcy after more than a year of COVID-19 testing and social distancing.
Just two weeks ago Baker called the debate around vaccine passes a “conversation worth having for all kinds of reasons” and called on the feds for guidance.
“Having 50 states doing 50 different things on this could get pretty complicated,” he said during the March 25 press conference.
In response to reports that Northeastern will require students to be vaccinated before returning to campus a day earlier, Baker said he expects “most colleges are probably going to discuss whether or not they want to make a vaccine … a requirement of coming back to school in the fall.”
The White House has eschewed ideas of a federal system “that requires Americans to carry a credential” to show they’ve been vaccinated.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week “there will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate,” but noted the Biden administration would soon issue guidance.
Already a patchwork of approaches has emerged. New York is the only state so far to try its hand at vaccine passports, partnering with Madison Square Garden. Hawaii is planning to allow vaccinated visitors to bypass quarantines.
GOP lawmakers in several states have rushed to restrict use of vaccine passes, condemning them as an infringement on personal freedoms. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday issued an executive order banning all businesses and government entities from requiring vaccine passports — the first state to do so.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3sYYOzn
Post a Comment