by Elliott Davis at US News
As COVID-19 vaccinations continue across the country, Arkansas and Montana are the latest states to advance legislation or enact laws that ban certain requirements – such as vaccine passports or conditions of employment – based on inoculation status.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, on April 28 signed into law various measures that prevent state and local governments from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of employment or to access goods and services, according to The Associated Press. The ban on requirements related to employment has some exceptions, including state-owned medical facilities.
The measure related to goods and services access is tied to the concept of “vaccine passports,” which provide proof of vaccination for activities such as traveling or attending concerts. Governors in six states – Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Texas and South Dakota – “have issued executive orders prohibiting vaccine passports/requirements in some regard,” according to James Nash, press secretary for the National Governors Association. Officials in the Joe Biden administration, however, have insisted that there aren’t plans for a federal vaccine passport system.
“Let me be clear that the government is not now, nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,” said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, during an April 14 press briefing. “There’ll be no federal vaccination database, no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”…