The Biden government will not require “vaccine passports” by law, but is ready to “support” companies pursuing the technology, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday.
“We don’t see this as the role of the government to create or mandate a vaccine passport – but these technologies are there,” Buttigieg told CNN’s Jake Tapper when asked if he supported airlines that required customers to provide vaccination documentation in order to fly.
“The private sector is working on it,” said Buttigieg. “We are interested in following that and providing technical advice or support where necessary.”
The transportation secretary said the Biden and CDC administration would make recommendations to airlines to make their own decisions about “ what they think is right – to protect their passengers, protect their employees, and to keep that confidence in the safety of U.S. travel on build. . “
“What we are seeing now is that you are fortunate to know that the guidelines reflect the progress that has been made in vaccinations,” he told Tapper.
Republican party leaders across the country have pledged to fight against “ vaccine passports, ” which house minority leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday called “ something you’d expect in communist China. ”
“We will defeat the virus thanks to Operation Warp Speed’s safe vaccines. But it is unacceptable in a free society to force Americans to carry a ‘vaccine passport’ to get on with everyday life, ”says McCarthy posted on Twitter
Texas and Florida governors, meanwhile, have decided to ban government agencies from requiring vaccination documentation.