US taking ‘very close look’ at vaccine passports
A view of a phone showing the new coronavirus passport app which can now be downloaded, in Copenhagen, Friday, May 28 2021. With the app, it is possible for the user to switch between two settings for use in Denmark and abroad, respectively, so that only the necessary information is displayed. The app can be used to document a valid coronavirus passport in both Denmark and when traveling in the EU.[Signe Goldmann/Ritzau Scanpix via AP]
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the government is taking “a very close look” at the possibility of vaccine passports for travel into and out of the United States.
As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Mayorkas oversees the Transportation Security Administration, which safeguards the nation’s transportation systems.
Mayorkas told ABC on Friday that one of his guiding principles throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been “the value of diversity, equity and inclusion and making sure that any passport that we provide for vaccinations is accessible to all and that no one is disenfranchised.”
The European Union, some Asian governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop COVID-19 vaccine passports to help kickstart international travel. They’re working on systems that would allow travelers to use mobile phone apps to prove they’ve been vaccinated, helping them avoid quarantine requirements at their destinations.
Mayorkas says the underlying point is: “Everyone should get vaccinated.”