White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the federal government will not be instituting any COVID-19 vaccine credentialing system.
“The government is not now, nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential. There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential,” Psaki said in response to a question during a press briefing on Tuesday. “As these tools are being considered by the private and non-profit sectors, our interest is very simple, from the federal government, which is Americans’ privacy and rights should be protected so that these systems are not used against people unfairly.”
“We will be providing some guidance which will look like an FAQ … that provides important answers to questions that Americans have, in particular around concerns about privacy, security or discrimination, soon, I don’t have an exact date for that yet,” she said.
The concept of vaccine passports has been heavily criticized by some Americans, with some governors issuing executive orders against vaccine passports.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against the illness while 32.6% have received at least one dose.
