April 1, 2021 | Senators Phillips-Hill, Brooks, & Ward | Source
“In the near future, we will introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of vaccine passports from being required by citizens to participate in routine activities within this Commonwealth.
Throughout this pandemic, Pennsylvania has followed New York’s lead on many mitigation strategies. Recently, it was announced that Governor Cuomo will implement the first-in-the-nation vaccine passport, that would be required for citizens to return to a normal way of life.
Requiring a vaccine passport for Pennsylvanians to live their lives day-to-day represents an extreme government intrusion into people’s personal lives. This is particularly evident as we are dealing with citizens’ private medical information.
In addition, the Commonwealth continues to play catch up with other states in terms of providing the vaccine to residents who wish to be inoculated. Pennsylvania was one of only two states without a formal vaccine roll out plan prior to the Food and Drug Administration granting Emergency Use Authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine.
We believe that every Pennsylvanian who wants a COVID-19 vaccine should have the opportunity to receive one. However, those who cannot get the vaccine due to medical reasons, arbitrary vaccine deployment phases created by the governor, or personal choice should not be discriminated against by their own government.”