States weighing ‘vaccine passports’
Connecticut has no current plans, but here’s how it could play out
Across the country, so-called “vaccine passports” are beginning to take shape.
Proponents hail the concept — a physical or digital document that verifies vaccination — as an avenue for safe and expedited reopening of the country. From baseball parks to concert venues, patrons could be expected to show proof they have been vaccinated as the nation fights its way out of the pandemic.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has embraced a digital verification platform called the “Excelsior Pass,” making New York the first state in the country to formally endorse a vaccine passport.
“The question of ‘public health or the economy’ has always been a false choice. The answer must be both,” the governor said when he announced the plan.
The voluntary program, while developed in partnership with the New York state government, is not mandatory for New
Yorkers. However, some private venues, such as Madison Square Garden, will allow patrons to use the Excelsior Pass to gain entry to large events. The pass also could be used as an entry ticket to wedding receptions and other events that are more crowded than otherwise permitted under the state’s gathering limits.
Worldwide, Israel was the first country to implement the concept through its “green pass,” which
allows vaccinated residents to access some places that aren’t open to the general public — such as gyms and hotels. The European Union is also preparing a vaccination passport to permit citizens to more easily travel between countries.
But in the U.S., vaccine verification systems are still in the early stages of development, through a disjointed effort that’s likely to look different from one state to the next.
And not everyone is on board. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to nip the concept in the bud and plans to sign an executive order to prevent private businesses from implementing passports, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
In Connecticut, a vaccine passport is still largely theoretical. Gov. Ned Lamont has so far taken a wait-and-see approach, even as other governors begin to take sides. Max Reiss, a spokesperson for Lamont, said that the governor agrees with the strategy of vaccine verification but worries about the privacy implications.
“The governor has said in the past that this ... is a concept that sounds like it’s a good idea,” Reiss said. “However, there remain significant questions when it comes to the use of data and people’s privacy that must be addressed.”
Here are the ways that a vaccine passport, and other forms of mandatory vaccination, could be implemented in Connecticut:
A mandate for vaccines is unlikely
Although some experts say that states are legally able to mandate vaccinations for their residents, that approach has not been implemented in any of the 50 states. And while the federal government has less authority to mandate vaccines, President Joe Biden has also said he would not pursue a federal vaccine mandate.
Lamont has said that he isn’t considering mandating vaccination for the general public. He has said, however, that he supports the idea of spectators at large events — such as sports games — providing proof of vaccination before entering a venue. That concept, if implemented, would be pushed by the venues themselves, not by the state.
And while a handful of isolated employers in the state are mandating vaccinations for their staff, the state has said that it hasn’t heard of any widespread push in that direction.
In late 2020, Lamont said he believed that Connecticut residents are “smart and overwhelmingly will get the vaccine voluntarily.”
Instead of a mandate, state and hospital officials have focused on boosting vaccination rates through providing information and answering people’s questions. But public health experts have said that the real barrier to vaccination is access, not hesitancy — and that’s a problem that a vaccine mandate wouldn’t touch anyway.
Fans may have to prove vaccination
In some states, large venues already ask fans to provide proof of either vaccination or a negative coronavirus test before they’re permitted to attend an event.
At New York City’s Madison Square Garden, for instance, Knicks and Rangers fans are required to show proof of one of the two before they can attend games.
But Connecticut’s sports venues haven’t yet decided whether they’ll implement vaccination and testing rules, and state guidelines don’t require it.
Beginning Friday, the state’s reopening plan allowed outdoor venues to expand to 50% capacity, with a 10,000 cap and indoor venues to expand to 10% capacity. But venues could take extra precautions if they choose.
With more than a month until the May 11 home opener at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the Hartford Yard Goats have not yet released fan safety guidelines. Team President Tim Restall said Tuesday that he expects to release those guidelines within a week or so, but he added that so far those guidelines don’t include vaccination verification.
“At this time, there’s nothing about vaccine passports that we’ve seen or we’re looking into,” Restall said.
Hartford Athletic’s spokesperson John Ponziani said that the team also hasn’t yet set its spectator safety standards for the upcoming season’s 16 home games.
“We’re still in the process of working through all of our protocols with the city of Hartford and with the state of Connecticut,” Ponziani said. “Nothing has been approved or finalized at this point.”
He added that the professional soccer team safely held games with fans in the fall, which is made easier because Dillon Stadium is outdoors.
The Travelers Championship, scheduled for June, has announced it will be hosting some number of golf spectators, but tournament director Nathan Grube said the safety guidelines are still in the works.
Grube said that the tournament’s staff will be watching other PGA Tour events to see what measures are put in place and how well those measures work.
“We’re very fortunate that all the tournaments get to learn from each other,” Grube said. “Everybody is looking at, when you brings fans back, how do you do it in a safe way?”
Last year, when the tournament was held without spectators, all media and other staff were still required to test negative for entry. But now, with vaccines in the mix, there are more factors to consider.
“Vaccines this year are part of the conversation, which they weren’t last year,” Grube said. “We’re going to use every resource that’s available to us to make sure it’s a very safe environment.”
Few employers are requiring vaccination
While legal experts say that employers have the right to require their staff to be vaccinated, most in Connecticut have opted not to take that path, at least for now.
Sachin Pandya, a law professor at UConn, said that employers are on solid legal footing if they decide to mandate vaccination, so long as they also allow exemptions such as for religious or medical reasons.
“At present, they do have the discretion to mandate it,” Pandya said.
He added that there might be some additional liability because the vaccines are not yet fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but are instead operating under emergency authorization. But he said a lawsuit based on any adverse effects of the vaccine would face “a very uphill climb” — and, on the flip side, employers could also be open to liability if they don’t mandate vaccination and someone becomes ill at their business.
But despite the legal allowance, Connecticut’s major hospitals — including Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford HealthCare, Trinity Health of New England and Yale New Haven Health — all said that they have not mandated vaccinations for their staff. All of the hospitals have, however, urged their staff to get the shot.
“This is not the time to arm wrestle with colleagues who have been through so much as frontline health care providers,” said Dr. Reginald Eadie, the president of Trinity Health of New England.
Eadie added that he foresees more employer mandates once the coronavirus vaccines receive full FDA approval.
At Hartford HealthCare, a mandate could also come under consideration in the future, according to chief clinical integration officer Dr. James Cardon.
“Will we ever get there? “Cardon said. “Certainly it’s something that we talk about, consider, but at least at the moment [we] don’t feel it’s right to do that at the time.”
For now, the practice appears to be uncommon in Connecticut, although there are a few exceptions.
Most notably, the Community Renewal Team is requiring vaccination for its approximately 400 employees. Jason Black, a spokesperson for CRT, said the mandate has been in place since January and that “a handful” of employees have sought exemptions for religious or medical reasons.
Black said CRT decided to require the shots because its employees are often interfacing with vulnerable populations, for instance through meal delivery to homebound residents.
“We want to do what we can to ensure that both our staff and ... the people we serve are going to be safe,” Black said. “And we do think the best way to do that is to ensure that our staff are in fact vaccinated.”
A spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health said that the department had heard that CRT was requiring vaccinations but had not heard of any other employers currently doing so. And similarly, the state Department of Economic and Community Development has not been fielding calls about employer-mandated vaccinations, a spokesperson said.
Universities urging student vaccination
On March 25, Rutgers University in New Jersey became the first university in the country to announce that it will be requiring coronavirus vaccinations for its students.
The university will require the vaccine for all students enrolled in fall 2021 classes, with the exception of online-only students. Rutgers also said in its announcement that it will provide exemptions for students claiming medical or religious reasons.
In Connecticut, universities say that nothing is off the table, but that they don’t currently have plans to require vaccinations for students or staff.
Spokespeople for UConn, Quinnipiac and Yale all said the universities are not currently mandating vaccinations..
Quinnipiac spokesperson John Morgan said in an email that the university administrators “have not made any decisions about whether or not to mandate the vaccine.”
Yale University spokesperson Karen Peart similarly said in an email that there “has been no decision yet about mandating vaccines for next term.”
But outside of required vaccinations, all three universities said they are strongly encouraging students and staff to get vaccinated as soon as they’re eligible.
“While receiving the vaccine is not mandatory at this time, we cannot emphasize enough how much being vaccinated matters and informs the University’s ability to successfully reopen,” said UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz.
She added that UConn hopes to fill its dorms at up to 90% next semester, but that the specifics depend on “public health circumstances.”
State officials have said that there will likely be vaccine clinics specifically for college students later in the spring.