Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Friday outlawing “so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports.”
DeSantis’ Executive Order 21-81 prohibits all government entities and businesses in the state of Florida from issuing or requiring any type of “standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status.”
Today I issued an executive order prohibiting the use of so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports. The Legislature is working on making permanent these protections for Floridians and I look forward to signing them into law soon. Read my EO here – https://t.co/6QwLsLWEWm
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 2, 2021
“The Legislature is working on making permanent these protections for Floridians and I look forward to signing them into law soon,” the governor wrote on Twitter.
The executive order states that vaccine passports “reduce individual freedom and will harm patient privacy.” The preemptive ban will presumably “protect fundamental rights and privacies of Floridians and the free flow of commerce within the state,” according to the document. (RELATED: ‘If You Guys Want A Gun Show’: Gov. DeSantis Might Not Get Vaccinated On Camera Unless People Really Want To See It)
DeSantis previously spoke out against the idea of introducing vaccine passports, warning he would issue an executive order to prevent such a measure in Florida.
“I think it’s something that people have certain freedoms and individual liberties to make decisions for themselves,” DeSantis said at a Monday press conference in Tallahassee.
“I also wonder, it’s like okay, you’re going to do this and what, give all this information to some big corporation? You want the fox to guard the hen house? I mean, give me a break. I think this is something that has huge privacy implications,” he added.
President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly meeting with private sector entities looking to develop vaccine passports.