Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) joined other Republican governors in banning state-mandated vaccine passports, via executive order. Kemp and other GOP governors are encouraging constituents to receive the COVID vaccination in full, but maintain that doing so is an individual decision and should not bar individuals from returning to normal life.
Vaccination is a personal decision between each citizen and a medical professional— not state government. Today, I released an executive order prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine passports in state government. https://t.co/cbmscfHbEs
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) May 25, 2021
“While I continue to urge all Georgians to get vaccinated so we continue our momentum in putting the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview, vaccination is a personal decision between each citizen and a medical professional — not state government. This order also clearly states that data held by the Georgia Department of Public Health and their immunization system will not be used by any public or private entity for a vaccine passport program,” Kemp said.
The order prohibits vaccine passports from being mandated to enter the Peach State, and requires state employers to establish streamlined rules, regardless of vaccination status.
Other GOP governors including Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Kay Ivey (R-AL), Kristi Noem (R-SD), and Greg Abbott (R-TX) have also banned the use of government-mandated vaccine passports. Democrat governors, on the other hand, are weighing mandates for vaccine passports in order for constituents to return to pre-pandemic activities.
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