ORLANDO, Fla. – Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that the U.S. government will not require Americans to use vaccine passports to prove they’ve been immunized against COVID-19.
In an interview with the “Politico Dispatch” podcast, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the federal government “may be involved in making sure things are done fairly and equitably, but I doubt if the federal government is going to be the leading element of that.”
Fauci said he expects some businesses and other institutions to create their own policies.
“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,” Fauci said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday, effectively banning the use of vaccine passports in the state.
The executive order prevents any Florida government entity from issuing a vaccine passport to prove that a person has been vaccinated for COVID-19. The order also bans businesses in Florida from requiring customers to provide COVID-19 vaccine documentation to gain access or services.
The order says “requiring so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports for taking part in everyday life — such as attending a sporting event, patronizing a restaurant, or going to a movie theater — would create two classes of citizens based on vaccination.”
According to the governor’s order, vaccines are not mandated in Florida and an individual’s decision to get a vaccine is private health information.
When a person receives their vaccination they already receive a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention card certifying their COVID-19 vaccine.