Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey approved a measure Monday to ban the usage of vaccine passports in the state.
S.B. 267, which passed the legislature earlier this month, prohibits public institutions and private businesses from requiring Alabama residents to show “documentation of immunization” to be provided service.
“I am supportive of a voluntary vaccine, and by signing this bill into law, I am only further solidifying that conviction,” the governor said shortly after signing the bill. “I made the choice to get the COVID-19 vaccine and glad for the peace of mind it brings. I encourage any Alabamian who has not gotten their shot to roll up their sleeves, and if you have questions, consult with your health care provider.”
“Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, both [state health official] Dr. [Scott] Harris and I have said that we would not mandate vaccines in the state of Alabama,” Ivey continued. “I am supportive of a voluntary vaccine and by signing this bill into law, I am only further solidifying that conviction.”
The White House announced last Friday it will not require people entering the executive mansion to provide vaccination proof. After news broke that the Biden administration is working with private industries to develop vaccine passports, press secretary Jen Psaki walked back those comments.
“The government is not now nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,” and “there will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential,” Psaki said in an April press conference.
Alabama joins a list of other states that have acted to ban the requirement of vaccine passports. Florida, Wyoming, South Dakota, and others have enacted similar bans. The Alabama law is “protecting the privacy rights of Alabamians from the federal overreach of the Biden Administration,” the state GOP said after Ivey signed the bill.
The law allows schools to “continue to require a student to prove vaccination status as a condition of attendance only for the specific vaccines that were already required by the institution as of January 1, 2021, provided that the institutions give an exemption for students with a medical condition or religious belief that is contrary to vaccination.”
