White House Rejects U.S. Vaccine Passports, Skirting Uproar

The U.S. government won’t issue so-called vaccine passports, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, after Texas sought to limit their development because of privacy concerns.

“The government is not now, nor will we be, supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,” Psaki told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”

The administration wants to protect Americans’ privacy and doesn’t want vaccine passports “used against people unfairly,” Psaki said.

Some businesses and colleges are pushing for people to show proof of vaccination -- before, say, boarding cruise ships, entering stadiums, or returning to campus -- as a way to safely resume pre-pandemic operations.