President Joe Biden’s White House will not require guests who don’t wear masks to prove they have been vaccinated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
Psaki made the announcement during a press briefing Friday. The Biden administration announced last week that vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks on the White House complex after the CDC updated its guidelines.
“That’s not the role we’re going to play,” replies @PressSec when asked if the @WhiteHouse will ask those in the building who don’t wear a mask whether they’ve been vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/zhpfHWJL5E
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 21, 2021
The announcement mirrors the Biden administration’s repeated statement that it will not support a federal vaccine passport or database for Americans. Psaki has said that state and local governments as well as private companies are free to require proof of vaccination as they see fit, however.
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JANUARY 15: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes off his mask as he arrives at the Queen theater to lay out his plan on combating the coronavirus January 15, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. President-elect Biden is announcing his plan to administer COVID-19 vaccines to Americans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Democrat-led States like New York have already begun encouraging the practice of requiring proof of vaccination before participating in certain events.
Other states, such as Republican-led Florida and Texas, have gone so far as to ban private companies from requiring proof of vaccinations.
.@PressSec on vaccine passports: we are not currently considering federal mandates… Private sector companies may decide that they want to have requirements. Thats up to them. We have no plans to change our approach from the the federal government.
— Kellan Howell (@kellanhowell) May 14, 2021
The White House has taken a noticeably different approach to masking and vaccination than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who still requires every representative to wear a mask under threat of a fine, even if they are vaccinated. CDC Guidelines say there is no reason for vaccinated people to wear masks, indoors or outdoors.