The editors of Florida-based newspaper The Palm Beach Post Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantisButtigieg hopes cruises return mid-summer The Hill’s 12:30 Report – presented by ExxonMobil – World mourns Prince Philip Trump’s death hands Rubio’s coveted reelection in Florida MORE‘s (R) executive order banning COVID-19 “vaccine passports.”
The editorial comes because several governors have taken measures in recent weeks to restrict vaccine passports – documents that provide proof of vaccination to allow people access to events with a wider audience, such as weddings and parties.
DeSantis has one executive order early April to prevent government agencies and private companies from requiring proof of vaccination. He has argued that this infringes individual freedom.
The governor’s argument makes no sense. The issue before us is public health. And there is no doubt that vaccinations are the most effective weapon against COVID-19 devised to date, ”the board wrote. “By preventing Floridians from differentiating between who’s vaccinated and who’s not, DeSantis says we should be content to extend the pandemic.”
The board noted that entities such as the cruise industry, sports leagues, theme parks and conventions could dispute the order.
It further stated that DeSantis’ argument was “puzzling,” noting that it goes against the premise of its full COVID-19 response to date.
“The entire COVID-19 response from the governor was based on the idea that it is best to trust people to do the right thing without the government telling them what to do,” it wrote.
‘Not here. Suddenly, DeSantis is not satisfied with banning the government from requiring a ‘vaccine passport’. He also doesn’t want companies to make that decision for themselves, ”it continued.
The paper said it would have understood that it would not have asked state and local governments to require proof of vaccination, but not private companies.
“If DeSantis had only banned Florida state and local governments from issuing vaccination passports, we would have understood, although we may disagree,” the board wrote. “But DeSantis’ decision to also prohibit private entities from requiring proof of vaccination is just bizarre and goes way too far.”
The Hill has contacted DeSantis for comment.
Conservatives have argued that vaccine passports infringe people’s right to privacy and the choice of whether or not to get vaccinated.
The debate over the documents has catapulted to the national level, with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiMcConnell, GOP Condemns Biden’s Executive Command Over SCOTUS Five Takeaways From Biden’s First Budget Proposal Overnight Defense: Biden Proposes 3B Defense Budget | Criticism comes from left and right | Pentagon moves to new screening for extremists MORE say Tuesday that the federal government “will not support a system that requires Americans to have ID. There will be no federal vaccination database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination record. “