Former Michigan Representative Justin Amash took to twitter on Tuesday to hit on the vaccine passports as "proof of vaccination for everyday living" that is not only "disingenuous" but also dangerous since the current administration may use it beyond that.
"Let's get the terms clear: A "vaccine passport" is not "what we already do." It's not proof of vaccination for internat'l travel or schooling. It's proof of vaccination for everyday living-groceries, restaurants, movies. It's disingenuous to conflate the former with the latter," Amash said in his first of a series of tweets.
"Another point apparently needs to be made clear: Libertarians can believe something is a bad idea even when done by a private actor (individual or business)," he added. "There's no inconsistency in believing a private actor has the right to do something but shouldn't."
As previously reported here, the Biden Administration is developing vaccine passports with several government agencies and private companies.
FaithWire reported that Amash pushed back on the idea of using the vaccine passports because they are totally different from the ones already being used mandatorily in schools.
The said vaccine passports, per The Washington Free Beacon, are much like the ones used in China where an app is mandated by the government to be installed by each user so that they could be classified according to their health status. The said classification is color-coded into green, yellow, or red and corresponds into areas the person can have access to in public.
The Free Beacon added that a similar app has been developed by the University of Illinois which further classifies a person into three color categories as "yellow," "orange," or "red," corresponding to being tested as negative, exposed, or tested positive, respectively. The university allows those with yellow status students to enter their premises.
FaithWire said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki indicated that the digital vaccine passports will be led by private sector in so far as the establishment of its "guidelines" rather than the government taking the lead for it. The system designed to verify the person's COVID=19 vaccination, Psaki said, must meet "high standards, whether that's universal accessibility, affordability, [or] availability".
Amash expressed belief that the vaccine passport will have "exceedingly negative consequences" even though it will be managed by the private sector.
"I believe a vaccine passport-even one privately managed-will have exceedingly negative consequences for society. I also don't believe the government will stay out of it; nor do I believe they'll stop at COVID or vaccinations. The expansion of the Patriot Act/FISA is instructive," he said in his last post in Twitter.
Besides Amash, FaithWire cited Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in being against it after announcing that he will ban the use of such vaccine passports in his state. DeSantis said they will not be supporting such vaccines for he finds it "unacceptable" for both government and private sector to "impose" such a requirement as proof of one's vaccination or health status so as to normally participate in society.
