California Encourages Venues to Require Vaccine 'Passports'

Leadership / 04.21.21

California Encourages Venues to Require Vaccine 'Passports' — Just Don't Call Them That

Access Staff

Los Angeles Times (04/19/21) Dolan, Maura

California has announced reopening rules for indoor live events that incentivize businesses to require digital or paper vaccine "passports" from ticket holders, although state health officials have repeatedly said they have no plans to mandate such measures. The rules vary according to a county's place on the state's color-coded risk tier: in the orange tier, denoting moderate virus spread, the capacity for indoor venues will be capped at 15% or 200 people, but if the operator requires proof of vaccination or a negative test, the venue can boost capacity to 35%. Theaters, music halls, and other indoor venues will have to choose whether opening at limited capacity is financially sensible and whether they want to risk backlash from customers who object to verification of vaccinations or tests. University of California, Berkeley infectious-disease expert John Swartzberg says the reluctance to formally accept the vaccine passport label is a result of politicization. University of California, San Diego Health professor Christopher A. Longhurst is collaborating with the Vaccination Credential Initiative on a system to produce trustworthy and verifiable copies of COVID-19 vaccination records in digital or paper form. California's health and human services secretary, Mark Ghaly, does not consider the state's rules for reopening indoor venues as a vaccine passport, as a pass system would require careful design to shield privacy and ensure fairness.

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