The Massachusetts Vaccine Passport Debate: 5 Things To Know

MASSACHUSETTS — The next, great coronavirus pandemic debate is underway, and it centers on coronavirus vaccine passports.

The passports are documents that can be used as proof of vaccination and several states are considering adopting them in some form or another. The passports would presumably allow holders to avoid some of the restrictions that are in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, but they are also raising questions about medical privacy and equity.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker opposes vaccine passports, but other lawmakers want to at least consider the idea. Here we try to answer some of the most common questions about vaccine passports.

Is this a new idea?

Vaccine passports have been around in one form or another for decades, and have primarily been used by international travelers to prove they have been inoculated against common diseases in the places they travel to. But they have never been used on as large of a scale as now being proposed. The COVID-19 vaccine passports would likely be digital documents, raising new questions about medical privacy.

Companies working on vaccine passports say the privacy concerns can be addressed with technology. The Vaccine Credential Initiative, made up of technology and healthcare companies, is working on open standards for the software that would be used in vaccine passport systems and has put an emphasis on protecting privacy.

Are there any places that already require vaccine passports?

Airlines, drugstores and other private businesses are experimenting with systems to verify vaccination, and Israel began issuing a vaccine passport in February. The Israeli passports are required to enter hotels, theaters and other public venues where the risk of transmission is high.

In the U.S., the CDC has issued vaccination cards to people who have been vaccinated. New York became the first state to adopt a passport program in late March. Hawaii last week announced plans to roll out a vaccine passport program by summer to help the state's struggling tourism industry rebound.

Other states, including GOP-controlled Florida, Idaho and Texas, have banned vaccine passport programs. The Biden administration says it will not adopt a federal vaccine passport program or keep a national database on who has been vaccinated. The World Health Organization also opposes vaccine passports, at least for now, saying it discriminates against people who can't or refuse to get vaccinated.

With new variants and questions about how long vaccines last, isn't it too soon to be having this discussion?

The biggest users of a coronavirus passport would be international travelers, and airports around the world are already reporting backups as people present paper documents to prove they have been vaccinated or have gotten a recent, negative COVID-19 test. Officials worry those delays will multiply as more people resume travel.

The electronic coronavirus passport could help cut down those delays. More importantly, it could automatically be updated as researchers learn more about the vaccine and the different coronavirus variants.

"We have to automate this thing," Nick Careen, senior vice president of the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry trade group, told the New York Times. "Even if there is never a vaccination requirement approved, there is still going to be a requirement for testing, and we can’t do this manually."

What's the status of vaccine passports in Massachusetts?

Gov. Charlie Baker has been cool to the idea. During a press briefing last week, he ducked questions about a vaccine passport program by stressing the state was focused on getting people vaccinated. In an earlier news conference, Baker said it didn't make sense to have such programs at the state level.

"Having 50 states doing 50 different things on this could get pretty complicated," he said March 25. Other Republican governors have come out more forcefully in opposing the idea (see Florida, Idaho and Texas above).

Can the government require people to get vaccinated?

There's no push to do so, in large part because it would be politically explosive to propose a mandatory vaccine program. But there is legal precedent in the form of a 1905 Supreme Court decision that allows certain government entities —like schools and the military —to require vaccinations. That ruling upheld a Cambridge rule calling for $5 fines for people who did not get a smallpox vaccination.

And the government can't stop private employers and institutions from requiring vaccinations. Several Massachusetts colleges have already said they will require students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus vaccine before school starts in the fall. It's worth noting schools already require students to get vaccinated against several diseases before a student can enroll.