Politics
Biden working on vaccine passport scheme to reopen US as critics brand it ‘un-American’ as it invades citizens privacy
JOE Biden’s administration and private firms are reportedly developing a “vaccine passport” that will allow Americans to return to pre-pandemic activities.
But critics have slammed the initiative as “un-American” over privacy concerns.
Could Covid-19 vaccine passports be the ticket for freedom for Americans?[/caption]
Joe Biden is planning to role out a vaccine passport scheme[/caption]
Biden views the so-called vaccine passport as key to meeting the administration’s goal of emerging from the lockdown and going back to normal this summer.
It is thought they will be available for free on people’s smartphones.
Vaccinated Americans will be able to flash a scannable code.
Those who do not have smartphones could print out a code on a piece of paper, according to The Washington Post.
New York State officials have launched a digital “Excelsior Pass” which is similar to a mobile airline boarding pass and uses a secure QR code that
It will be accepted at major entertainment venues like Madison Square Garden and Albany’s Times Union Center.
Other countries and entities, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, China and Japan are working on their own versions of vaccine passports.
The White House’s coronavirus czar, Jeff Zients, is working to coordinate with various government agencies.
If it became a government mandate, it would go down a dark road very quickly
Brian Castrucci, the head of the Maryland-based de Beaumont Foundation
He said: “Our role is to help ensure that any solutions in this area should be simple, free, open-source, accessible to people both digitally and on paper, and designed from the start to protect people’s privacy.”
But Brian Castrucci, the head of the Maryland-based de Beaumont Foundation, told the Post: “If it became a government mandate, it would go down a dark road very quickly.”
The foundation is a public health group that is researching why some Americans are skeptical of the vaccine.
Some believe a vaccine passport as “un-American”.
Mr Castrucc said: “[The passport] becomes a credential. It becomes a ‘needing your papers’ if you will.
“That could be dangerous — and it could turn off people.”
Vaccine passports could be downloaded as apps on smartphones[/caption]
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Meanwhile, infections are on the rise again and some state leaders are sounding the alarm over their latest trends.
The average number of new Covid-19 cases saw a seven per cent increase from the previous week.
More than two dozen states are reporting at least a 10 per cent increase, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
