Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Friday prohibiting vaccine passports.
A vaccine passport is proof that you’ve tested negative for or been protected against certain infections, COVID-19 in this case. It can be digital, like a phone app, or physical, such as a small paper card.
“Today I issued an executive order prohibiting the use of so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports,” DeSantis said on Twitter. “The legislation is working on making permanent these protections for Floridians and I look forward to signing them into law soon.”
The order prevents the government from issuing documentation to certify an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status. Businesses in the state of Florida are also prohibited from requiring customers to present vaccination cards.
The order states that requiring vaccine passports to participate in everyday events would create two classes of citizens based on vaccination.
“It’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 participate in normal society,” DeSantis said.
Last week, New York launched the Excelsior Pass. The pass is available on a phone app and provides a QR code to prove proof of vaccination. Several countries in Europe have developed a vaccine passport program.