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Lawmakers discuss the possibility of vaccine passports

Posted at 10:19 AM, Apr 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-08 11:19:46-04

DES MOINES, Iowa. (KMTV) — Easter weekend was a record-breaking travel weekend for the pandemic as millions of people were flying across the country.

More than 6 million people went through TSA security over the holiday weekend.

As people start to get vaccinated and travel starts to pick back up, so does the debate on vaccine passports.

A vaccine passport is a document that shows a traveler has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

We've talked about this in the past few weeks, but now U.S. leaders are weighing in.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts announced this week that he opposes the idea of vaccine passports.

He said the state of Nebraska will not participate, adding the concept violates two central principles of the American system: freedom of movement and healthcare privacy.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is also opposing the idea, even encouraging others to say no to the passports.

“I think what you are doing when you move forward with something like that is that you are creating a two-tier society and it's either you engage or you are marginalized,” said Gov. Reynolds.

Reynolds added the passports violate personal choice, personal privacy and HIPAA rights.

Nationally, airlines and other business groups have been lobbying the white house to take a role in standardizing the vaccine passport but even the Biden administration said it will leave that up to the private sector.

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