Do You Support A Vaccine Passport In Florida? Take Our Survey

FLORIDA — With more and more Floridians and Americans being vaccinated daily — and the state's governor voicing his opposition to proof of shots — the topic of vaccine passports has been in the public discourse.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning the passports Friday. "It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society," he said Monday during a press conference, CNN reported.

On the day DeSantis signed the executive order, he also tweeted that the legislature is working to make permanent protections for Floridians, and hopes to sign them into law soon. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to ban state agencies or anyone receiving public money from requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

The passports would be a way for a person to show they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recently tested negative for the virus. Places such a passport could be required is for air travel or sporting events.

For now, there doesn't seem to be a federal vaccine passport that Americans will be required to carry. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said there will be no federal mandate requiring everyone to have a single vaccination credential and the administration has said they would leave it up to private companies.

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"The government is not now, nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential," Psaki said. "There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential."

Anyone who completes the vaccine series for COVID-19 does receive a paper record from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those concerned about the proposal have privacy concerns about health information getting leaked, which experts say is valid. However, a claim that the passports would violate HIPAA is not true. As The Washington Post reported, the law does not apply to the information itself but rather to covered entities like doctors or insurance companies who are not allowed to share a patient's medical information with anyone.

The survey is meant not to be a scientific poll, but only to give a broad idea of public sentiment.

Share your thoughts with Patch in our survey, embedded below.