On ‘vaccine passports’

benfell

See updates through June 20, 2021, at end of post.

Note: I am aware of concerns that ‘vaccine passports’ may be unfair to those who are unfairly disadvantaged in accessing vaccines. This post does not address those concerns, which are diminishing within the U.S.,[1] nor the problem of medical apartheid and vaccination resistance,[2] but rather the conservative objection to such ‘passports.’

According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, “[i]t’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.”[3]

It’s worth tracing the logic here. If you shouldn’t have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, that means that neither the public nor the private sectors have a legitimate interest in that vaccination, which necessarily means that your vaccination status does not affect other people’s well-being, at least to a degree that justifies an infringement of rights that DeSantis apparently holds dear. This, for a disease that, as of this morning (March 31, 2021), has killed 550,500 people in the United States,[4] including 33,337 people in DeSantis’ state,[5] and a disease for which variants are appearing that threaten even those who have received the vaccine.[6]

Which is to say that for DeSantis, individual “freedom”[7] is more important than other people’s lives. This according to a man who asserts that “[t]he right to life is the most foundational of our God-given rights.”[8]

Now, I understand that for abortion opponents, such as DeSantis, the right to life is not for everyone, but really only for those yet to be born, and probably more so for white lives than Black lives.[9] But for the rest of us, DeSantis’ anti-choice stance should undermine entirely his stance on vaccine passports.

Update, April 3, 2021: I have updated the note at the beginning of this post to further the clarify what I am and am not responding to here, and enhanced the argument on whether vaccine hesitancy in fact threatens other people by pointing to the problem of variants.[10]

Update, April 25, 2021: Apparently opponents of COVID-19 vaccines have taken to wearing yellow stars, like those the Nazi regime required of Jews.


At this writing, I do not yet have a full explanation, but this would seem least nonsensical in reference to “vaccine passports” and takes the carrying of such a passport as a mark of shame imposed by a tyrannical regime.

First, no one is forcing anyone to have a vaccine. Some propose (see the original post) to limit the risk that vaccine resisters or the vaccine hesitant pose to themselves and others.

A capitalist libertarian argument here cuts both ways: Indeed, 1) nobody should be forced to accept the vaccine, but also, 2) if someone willfully exposes other people to a life-threatening illness, they should be civilly and criminally liable, and furthermore, 3) people have an inferred First Amendment freedom of association—historically taken to rationalize racism[11]—to refuse to associate with those who threaten them. Refusing a vaccine endorses the first part of this and neglects the second and third.

If you are going to argue “freedom,” even on conservative grounds,[12] your argument needs to be complete.

Update, April 28, 2021: I’m having trouble tracking this down, so it might have been a passenger, likely a nurse, who told me of COVID-19 patients on their deathbeds, still angrily denying COVID-19 and furiously calling their doctors and nurses—people risking their own lives trying to save theirs—idiots, even as they breathe their last.

I wish I had a good answer for the vaccine resistance on the right. I really don’t:

Only now it’s demand [for now-plentiful COVID-19 vaccines] that’s perhaps in short supply. Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster who has conducted focus groups to better understand vaccine hesitancy, said [Joe] Biden “has a long way to go” to convince more [Donald] Trump voters to get a shot.

“Biden doesn’t want to thank Trump, just as Trump doesn’t want to thank Biden,” he said. “If they would just compliment each other, lives would be saved.”

A kumbaya moment with Trump isn’t on the Biden administration’s to-do list. Instead officials have been networking with religious leaders and local doctors, hoping that community voices will be the most persuasive.

Lee Riley, chair of the infectious disease and vaccinology division at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, said the administration needs to do more of that, and avoid a “top-down approach” to encouraging vaccines.

“I don’t think they’re doing enough,” he said. “Instead of just talking about it, they really need to start going into the communities.”[13]

I doubt that Frank Luntz is right. It’s awfully, awfully hard to conceive of “thank[ing] Trump” after all the damage the latter did, the huge death toll in the U.S.—569,771 as of last night[14]—he is largely responsible for, with his COVID-19 denial and delusion, even after coming down with COVID-19 himself.[15]

Donald Trump supporters continue to fly their campaign flags around southwestern Pennsylvania, nearly six months after the election and nearly four months after a coup attempting to keep Trump in power;[16] To the extent the rage I see around Pittsburgh is more widespread,[17] I doubt they will listen to anyone besides their own conspiracy theorists.[18]

Update, May 3, 2021: It looks like, even as some semblance of normalcy returns, COVID-19 will be with us for a very, very long time.[19] A short version is that as people refuse the vaccine or are difficult to reach to be vaccinated, COVID-19 variants have the opportunity to arise. Some may be more lethal. Some may be more contagious. Some may “break through” vaccines.[20]

The picture is complicated. A lot of people, including myself, may never know if we have been infected with COVID-19,[21] even if they—I have never been tested—were tested (at least when the tests were new).[22] To the extent we were infected and subsequently vaccinated, we may be more broadly immune to variants.[23] That, in turn, could eventually limit the ability of variants to spread.[24]

I had less severe side-effects with the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, suggesting a possibility that I might previously have been infected,[25] but there is a huge confounding variable in that, anticipating more severe side effects following the second dose,[26] I went home that afternoon instead of going right back to work as I had with the first dose. So the bottom line remains the same: I don’t know. And probably a lot of people in my risk categories won’t either.

“It’s really just kind of a reflection of how unique each of our systems are, what other immunities we have,” Dr. Mark Loafman, chair of family and community medicine for Cook County Health in Illinois, told NBC 5. “Each of our immune systems is a mosaic composite of all that we’ve been through and all that we have and all we’ve recently been dealing with.”

“Our individual response varies,” Loafman said, but everybody experiences an “appropriate immune response” for their own body.[27]

It’d all be simpler if we could look forward to a day when COVID-19 was going away. But with so many people refusing to be vaccinated and with significant segments of the population that are difficult to reach, even when they are willing to be vaccinated, that’s looking less and less likely.[28]

Update, May 14, 2021: Pennsylvania rapidly revised its order on mask-wearing[29] to match the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines relaxing mask requirements for fully vaccinated people,[30] but Pittsburgh area businesses remain uncertain as to how to implement the guidance without a way to know who’s been vaccinated and who hasn’t.[31]

There’s simply no alternative here to some form of vaccine passport that can be very rapidly and easily checked. It really is unclear, in the absence of such,[32] how this is supposed to work. And the decision has earned criticism[33] even from at least one expert who has criticized the CDC for excessive caution. In Pennsylvania, the order is paired with Governor Tom Wolf’s promise that once 70 percent of the state’s population is vaccinated, mask restrictions will be lifted,[34] but nationally, Leana Wen argues that the “honor code” in fact removes an incentive to get vaccinated for the many who have been in denial all along.[35]

I haven’t heard from either Uber or Lyft on this and it’s unclear to me when the inside of a car would be considered a “crowded situation.” But it’s sure to be a problem.

Update, May 16, 2021: While the U.S. is basically doing nothing about vaccine passports,[36] largely due to conservative objections,[37] the rest of the world is moving forward, seeing them as a necessity to reviving the tourism business, and the United Nations has issued recommendations.[38] It seems to me like something’s gotta give here: If you like capitalism, indeed, if you like freedom to travel around the world, you now support them with vaccine passports, but the particularly stupid among conservatives have been crying “freedom” to object to vaccine passports,[39] lockdowns,[40] and mask requirements.[41]

Now, more than ever, it is apparent that for some conservatives, “freedom” is about spreading disease. On the other hand, self-contradiction doesn’t really seem to be a problem for Donald Trump’s supporters.

Update, May 17, 2021: The latest face mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relies on an “honor system.” The vaccinated may often go without masks. The unvaccinated should still wear them and are trusted to do so.[42]

But the CDC card I received with my vaccination obviously isn’t even meant to resist forgery. And apparently folks are forging such certifications all around the world. The folks producing and carrying these cards, sometimes because they live in places where vaccines remain hard to get, sometimes because they don’t take COVID-19 seriously, are the very people we’re supposed to trust, on the “honor system.”[43] If conservatives are seeking examples of government incompetence, well, here is most definitely one.

Uupdate, May 29, 2021: “‘The government is not now, nor will we be, supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,’ the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said last month,” but now “[t]he Biden administration is taking ‘a very close look’ at the possibility of vaccine passports for travel into and out of the United States, the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said on Friday [May 28, 2021].[44] In fact, it appears there was a bit of wriggle room:

President Biden in January did sign an executive order directing federal agencies to see how feasible it would be to connect COVID-19 vaccines to vaccine cards. 

“Consistent with applicable law, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (including through the Administrator of the TSA), in coordination with any relevant international organizations, shall assess the feasibility of linking COVID-19 vaccination to International Certificates of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) and producing electronic versions of ICVPs,” the executive order reads in the Federal Register.[45]

Mayorkas’ statement appears consistent[46] with that order.[47]

I’m trying to think how this would likely work, and I assume that like a regular passport, a vaccine passport would have to be obtainable even if international travel is not imminently planned. Which would mean that, presumably, everyone who has been vaccinated could get one. And once they exist, barring actual laws preventing their use, it would be hard to prevent establishments that want to verify vaccination status from requiring them. Despite Psaki’s assurance,[48] some states have indeed passed restrictions, but most such bans seem to apply only to state and local governments, not businesses.[49]

Update, June 20, 2021: This is where COVID-19 denial, vaccine resistance, and vaccine refusal matter.[50] Because the delta variant is both more contagious, even for the fully vaccinated, and more dangerous. Vaccines still offer significant protection.[51] But there has to be a real question as to how long it will be before a variant arises that does break through the vaccines more often.

  1. [1]Philip Bump, “Vaccine skepticism and disregard for containment efforts go hand in hand,” Washington Post, April 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/vaccine-skepticism-disregard-containment-efforts-go-hand-in-hand/↩
  2. [2]David Benfell, “Medical apartheid and COVID-19 vaccinations,” Not Housebroken, March 30, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/26/medical-apartheid-and-covid-19-vaccinations/↩
  3. [3]Laurel Wamsley, “Florida Gov. DeSantis Rejects Vaccine Passports As ‘Completely Unacceptable,’” National Public Radio, March 30, 2021, https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/30/982837517/florida-gov-desantis-rejects-vaccine-passports-as-completely-unacceptable↩
  4. [4]New York Times, “Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count,” March 31, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html↩
  5. [5]New York Times, “Florida Coronavirus Map and Case Count,” March 31, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/florida-coronavirus-cases.html↩
  6. [6]Josie Ensor, “New coronavirus mutation could be evolving to get around mask-wearing and hand-washing,” Telegraph, September 24, 2020, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/24/new-coronavirus-mutation-could-evolving-get-around-mask-wearing/; Natalie Grover, “What do we know about the fast-spreading Covid variant in UK?” Guardian, December 20, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/fast-spreading-covid-variant-in-england-uk; Melissa Healy, “California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here,’” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-02-23/california-homegrown-coronavirus-strain-looks-increasingly-transmissible-and-dangerous; Sarah Kaplan and Joel Achenbach, “Researchers hypothesize that a highly contagious strain of the coronavirus is spreading, but other experts remain skeptical,” Washington Post, May 5, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/researchers-hypothesize-that-a-highly-contagious-strain-of-the-coronavirus-is-spreading-but-other-experts-remain-skeptical/2020/05/05/db90d790-8ee7-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html; Sarah Kaplan and Joel Achenbach, “This coronavirus mutation has taken over the world. Scientists are trying to understand why,” Washington Post, June 29, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/06/29/coronavirus-mutation-science/; Christopher Rowland, Emily Rauhala, and Miriam Berger, “Drug companies defend vaccine monopolies in face of global outcry,” Washington Post, March 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/20/covid-vaccine-global-shortages/; Zeynep Tufekci, “The Fourth Surge Is Upon Us. This Time, It’s Different,” Atlantic, March 30, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/fourth-surge-variant-vaccine/618463/; Ralph Vartabedian, “Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious,” Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/mutant-coronavirus-has-emerged-more-contagious-than-original↩
  7. [7]The conservative understanding of ‘freedom’ is distorting. See David Benfell, “On ‘freedom,’” Not Housebroken, March 14, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/09/13/on-freedom/↩
  8. [8]Ron DeSantis, “The right to life is the most foundational of our God-given rights. I am a proud cosponsor of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which protects victims and helps to foster a culture of life,” Twitter, January 19, 2018, https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/954416825433026560↩
  9. [9]David Benfell, “The connection between ‘original sin,’ misogyny, and white supremacism,” Not Housebroken, November 25, 2018, https://disunitedstates.org/2018/11/25/the-connection-between-original-sin-misogyny-and-white-supremacism/↩
  10. [10]Josie Ensor, “New coronavirus mutation could be evolving to get around mask-wearing and hand-washing,” Telegraph, September 24, 2020, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/24/new-coronavirus-mutation-could-evolving-get-around-mask-wearing/; Natalie Grover, “What do we know about the fast-spreading Covid variant in UK?” Guardian, December 20, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/fast-spreading-covid-variant-in-england-uk; Melissa Healy, “California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here,’” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-02-23/california-homegrown-coronavirus-strain-looks-increasingly-transmissible-and-dangerous; Sarah Kaplan and Joel Achenbach, “Researchers hypothesize that a highly contagious strain of the coronavirus is spreading, but other experts remain skeptical,” Washington Post, May 5, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/researchers-hypothesize-that-a-highly-contagious-strain-of-the-coronavirus-is-spreading-but-other-experts-remain-skeptical/2020/05/05/db90d790-8ee7-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html; Sarah Kaplan and Joel Achenbach, “This coronavirus mutation has taken over the world. Scientists are trying to understand why,” Washington Post, June 29, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/06/29/coronavirus-mutation-science/; Christopher Rowland, Emily Rauhala, and Miriam Berger, “Drug companies defend vaccine monopolies in face of global outcry,” Washington Post, March 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/20/covid-vaccine-global-shortages/; Ralph Vartabedian, “Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious,” Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/mutant-coronavirus-has-emerged-more-contagious-than-original↩
  11. [11]Findlaw, “The First Amendment – Freedom of Speech, Religion, and the Press,” n.d., https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1.html; David L. Hudson, Jr., “Freedom of Association,” First Amendment Encyclopedia, https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1594/freedom-of-association↩
  12. [12]David Benfell, “On ‘freedom,’” Not Housebroken, March 14, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/09/13/on-freedom/↩
  13. [13]Chris Megerian, “Biden’s coronavirus success threatened by political divisions he pledged to heal,” Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-04-27/bidens-coronavirus-success-threatened-by-political-divisions-he-pledged-to-heal↩
  14. [14]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “COVID Data Tracker,” April 27, 2021, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home↩
  15. [15]David Benfell, “On wishing the delusional raging narcissist-in-chief well,” Not Housebroken, October 16, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/10/03/on-wishing-the-delusional-raging-narcissist-in-chief-well/↩
  16. [16]David Benfell, “Riot or insurrection? Lies or madness?” Not Housebroken, January 22, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/01/12/riot-or-insurrection-lies-or-madness/↩
  17. [17]David Benfell, “Hate, Pittsburgh Style,” Not Housebroken, April 6, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/04/06/hate-pittsburgh-style/↩
  18. [18]This determination to believe seems stronger than I could have imagined when I suggested that the vociferousness of Donald Trump’s supporters betrays doubt rather than certainty: David Benfell, “Doubting the ‘Fox News bubble,’” Not Housebroken, March 29, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/09/07/doubting-the-fox-news-bubble/↩
  19. [19]Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html↩
  20. [20]Sally Robertson, “Previously infected vaccinees broadly neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern,” News-Medical, May 2, 2021, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210502/Previously-infected-vaccinees-broadly-neutralize-SARS-CoV-2-variants-of-concern.aspx↩
  21. [21]Holly Yan, “5 common arguments for reopening the economy — and why experts say they are flawed,” CNN, May 11, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/11/us/reopening-the-economy-flawed-arguments-trnd/index.html↩
  22. [22]Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandavilli, “Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver,” New York Times, April 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html; Christopher Weaver, “Questions About Accuracy of Coronavirus Tests Sow Worry,” Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/questions-about-accuracy-of-coronavirus-tests-sow-worry-11585836001↩
  23. [23]Sally Robertson, “Previously infected vaccinees broadly neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern,” News-Medical, May 2, 2021, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210502/Previously-infected-vaccinees-broadly-neutralize-SARS-CoV-2-variants-of-concern.aspx↩
  24. [24]Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html↩
  25. [25]Katie Camero, “If you’ve had COVID, your first vaccine dose may cause worse side effects. Here’s why,” Miami Herald, April 20, 2021, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article250667914.html↩
  26. [26]David Benfell, “Medical apartheid and COVID-19 vaccinations,” Not Housebroken, April 4, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/26/medical-apartheid-and-covid-19-vaccinations/↩
  27. [27]Katie Camero, “If you’ve had COVID, your first vaccine dose may cause worse side effects. Here’s why,” Miami Herald, April 20, 2021, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article250667914.html↩
  28. [28]Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html↩
  29. [29]Cassie Miller, “Fully vaxxed Pennsylvanians can go mask-free, state health officials confirm,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, May 13, 2021, https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/fully-vaxxed-pennsylvanians-can-go-mask-free-state-health-officials-confirm/↩
  30. [30]Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo, “‘Great day for America’: Vaccinated can largely ditch masks,” Associated Press, May 13, 2021, copy in possession of author↩
  31. [31]Teghan Simonton and Megan Guza, “Western Pa. businesses grapple with mask policies after CDC, state updates guidance,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 13, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/regional/western-pa-businesses-grapple-with-mask-policies-after-cdc-state-updates-guidance/↩
  32. [32]Kathryn Watson, “White House leaves vaccine ‘passports’ to private sector,” CBS News, March 30, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-passports-private-sector/↩
  33. [33]Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo, “‘Great day for America’: Vaccinated can largely ditch masks,” Associated Press, May 13, 2021, copy in possession of author↩
  34. [34]Cassie Miller, “Fully vaxxed Pennsylvanians can go mask-free, state health officials confirm,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, May 13, 2021, https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/fully-vaxxed-pennsylvanians-can-go-mask-free-state-health-officials-confirm/↩
  35. [35]Leana S. Wen, “The CDC shouldn’t have removed restrictions without requiring proof of vaccination,” Washington Post, May 13, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/13/cdc-mask-rules-vaccination-leana-wen/↩
  36. [36]Kathryn Watson, “White House leaves vaccine ‘passports’ to private sector,” CBS News, March 30, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-passports-private-sector/↩
  37. [37]David Benfell, “On ‘vaccine passports,’” Not Housebroken, May 14, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/31/on-vaccine-passports/↩
  38. [38]Shannon McDonagh, “Here is what every country’s vaccine passport should have, according to the UN,” EuroNews, May 14, 2021, https://www.euronews.com/travel/2021/05/14/here-is-what-every-country-s-vaccine-passport-should-have-according-to-the-un↩
  39. [39]David Benfell, “On ‘vaccine passports,’” Not Housebroken, May 14, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/31/on-vaccine-passports/↩
  40. [40]David Benfell, “The capitalist death cult,” Not Housebroken, March 22, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/03/27/the-capitalist-death-cult/↩
  41. [41]Priya Elan, “The data is in: men are too fragile to wear Covid-19 masks. Grow up, guys,” Guardian, July 3, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/03/covid-19-masks-men-masculinity; Marc Fisher, Clarence Williams, and Lori Rozsa, “Will Americans wear masks to prevent coronavirus spread? Politics, history, race and crime factor into tough decision,” Washington Post, April 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-masks-america/2020/04/18/bdb16bf2-7a85-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html; Christine Hauser, “The Mask Slackers of 1918,” New York Times, August 3, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/us/mask-protests-1918.html; Griff Witte, Ariana Eunjung Cha, and Josh Dawsey, “At the heart of dismal U.S. coronavirus response, a fraught relationship with masks,” Washington Post, July 28, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/at-the-heart-of-dismal-us-coronavirus-response-a-fraught-relationship-with-masks/2020/07/28/f47eccd0-cde4-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html↩
  42. [42]Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo, “‘Great day for America’: Vaccinated can largely ditch masks,” Associated Press, May 13, 2021, copy in possession of author; Leana S. Wen, “The CDC shouldn’t have removed restrictions without requiring proof of vaccination,” Washington Post, May 13, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/13/cdc-mask-rules-vaccination-leana-wen/↩
  43. [43]Jamie Grierson, “Fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, researchers say,” Guardian, May 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/fake-covid-vaccine-and-test-certificate-market-is-growing-researchers-say↩
  44. [44]Alexandra Villarreal, “US taking ‘very close look’ at vaccine passports for international travel,” Guardian, May 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/homeland-security-biden-alejandro-mayorkas↩
  45. [45]Kathryn Watson, “White House leaves vaccine ‘passports’ to private sector,” CBS News, March 30, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-passports-private-sector/↩
  46. [46]Alexandra Villarreal, “US taking ‘very close look’ at vaccine passports for international travel,” Guardian, May 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/homeland-security-biden-alejandro-mayorkas↩
  47. [47]Kathryn Watson, “White House leaves vaccine ‘passports’ to private sector,” CBS News, March 30, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-passports-private-sector/↩
  48. [48]Kathryn Watson, “White House leaves vaccine ‘passports’ to private sector,” CBS News, March 30, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-passports-private-sector/↩
  49. [49]Jackie Drees, “Vaccine passports: 23 states with bans, limitations & green lights,” Becker’s Healthcare, May 26, 2021, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-transformation/vaccine-passports-10-states-with-bans-limitations-green-lights.html↩
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