Vaccine Passports In New Jersey? Most Patch Readers Say: No

NEW JERSEY — An overwhelming majority of New Jersey Patch readers who responded to our survey are against the idea of a statewide vaccine passport — a kind of digital credential that would show a person's vaccination status or recent negative COVID-19 test result as a way for them to possibly attend sporting events or enter businesses.

As more and more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, the idea of a vaccine passport has been in the public discourse, and states are taking steps to either explore the idea or reject it altogether.

Patch received more than 6,500 total responses to our survey, with more than 80 percent of respondents saying they opposed the idea of a vaccine passport. More than 73 percent of those respondents said they had data privacy concerns around the use of such a credential. When asked about the specific types of concerns they had, readers said they should be able to keep medical information private.

The survey was not a scientific poll, with random sampling and weighting by race, education or other factors, and should be viewed only as a broad gauge of public sentiment.

Last month, Gov. Phil Murphy clarified his support for requiring a "vaccine passport" to prove one has been vaccinated against the coronavirus in order to board planes or enter sporting events.

"I was asked about the vaccination passport, if I was open-minded to it at one point. I said 'Yeah, that's something that I'd be open-minded to,'" said the governor. "I don't want anyone to think that we're up here pounding the table, to think that this is something we unquestionably support. The CDC is the place that that discussion and that guidance have to come from."

Earlier, Murphy was asked by a CNBC reporter on Squawk Box about the possibility of people have to show their vaccine cards to get places.

"Don't get rid of the card, that's likely to be something valuable," Murphy replied. "Laminate it and put it in your wallet. The CDC clearly takes the lead and we have our own independent process. In terms of what value that card might have in terms of your own personal health, to be determined. But that is under consideration.

Read more: Gov. Murphy Clarifies His Stance On NJ COVID 'Vaccine Passports'

In the Patch survey, many readers cited the medical privacy law HIPAA and claimed it would be a violation of the law to require a vaccine passport. However, a fact check of this claim makes it clear that this is not the case. The law's privacy rule only applies to entities like hospitals and doctors' offices and prevents them from sharing medical information with third parties, as The Washington Post explained.

"HIPAA doesn't apply if nobody involved is part of the medical system; it's not technically a medical record," Carmel Shachar, a Harvard Law lecturer, told Slate in December.

A fact-check by Atlanta-based news outlet 11Alive also found that an individual voluntarily sharing medical information is consenting to let that information be shared.

That's not to say there aren't legitimate privacy concerns around the use of a vaccine passport, as digital data breaches are now common.

"Our country has gone over the edge," one Patch reader wrote. "I’m not going with it. Stop all this crap of getting a vaccination passport. This is fascism at its best. Just stop it!"

The nearly 20 percent of respondents who said they supported a vaccine passport shared some of the settings where they felt such a passport could be used. Below is a sampling of the locations:

• Air travel
• Large events
• Indoor events
• Sports
• Restaurants
• Concerts

Most readers (77.9 percent) who were opposed to the idea of a vaccine passport said they did not believe residents should have to show proof of vaccination. When it came to letting private businesses and employers put their own policies in place, a smaller yet still overwhelming majority (more than 72 percent) of these readers, said they were opposed to it.

"Showing vaccination papers to function in society is reminiscent of Nazi Germany or Communist USSR or China and incompatible with a free country and individual liberty.," another reader wrote.

Those opposed to the passports were also largely against health screenings like temperature checks at restaurants and movie theaters (65 percent), COVID-19 vaccine requirements for domestic or international air travel (76.3 percent) and a majority (more than 65 percent) said they would not feel safer attending an event or eating at a restaurant knowing others around them had been vaccinated for COVID-19.

There were some readers in the minority who said they felt differently.

"Public response to this pandemic has been appalling. Anything to encourage vaccination should be implemented.," one said.

Another noted that you have to have proof of ID to purchase liquor, drive a car, cash a check.

"So why not show proof of having been vaccinated before you risk your family, friends, and community," they said. "If we don’t make this mandatory we’ll end up having to shut down again."

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