Likely legal, ‘vaccine passports’ emerge as the next coronavirus divide in U.S.

WORLD / Politics

Likely legal, ‘vaccine passports’ emerge as the next coronavirus divide in U.S.

As the U.S. struggles to emerge from the worst public health crisis in a century, the arrival of digital vaccine verification apps — a modern version of the World Health Organization’s 'yellow card” that provides international proof of yellow fever vaccination — has generated intense debate over whether proof of vaccination can be required at all. | REUTERS

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Adam Liptak
The New York Times

Apr 9, 2021

WASHINGTON – Cathay Pacific Airways, convinced that digital proof of coronavirus vaccination will bring about the return of safe international travel, asked its pilots and crew to try out a new mobile app that showed their vaccination status on a recent flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles.

New York has rolled out “Excelsior Pass,” billed by the state as “a free, fast and secure way to present digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination” in case reopening sports and entertainment venues require proof of attendees’ status.

And Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., is offering electronic verification apps to patients vaccinated in its stores so they “can easily access their vaccine status as needed,” the company says.