Orange County Govt. Backs Down from Requiring Vaccine Passports, But Will Keep Vaccine Records for Businesses to Implement System

California: Orange County was set to roll out its pilot digital vaccine passport program using the Othena vaccine scheduling app to track vaccines and testing credentials that may be used to restrict interactions including travel, attractions, conferences/meetings, concerts, sports, school and more. Peggy Hall led 200 people who attended the OC Supervisors’ meeting to speak out against the vaccine passport that could easily expand to emulate China’s social credit system. She said that the county government backed down from their plan to implement the vaccine passport system, however, the new plan is for businesses to discriminate against people’s health status if they reject vaccines, which is illegal.

California’s Orange County plans to launch a pilot program for digital CCP virus vaccine and testing passports, according to health officials.

The vaccine and testing credentialing arrangement will be rolled out sometime in April, Orange County Health Care Agency officials said on Twitter.

“The Digital Passport enables individuals to participate safely and with peace of mind in activities that involve interactions with other people, including travel, attractions, conferences/meetings, concerts, sports, school and more,” officials added.

While details are scant about how the digital vaccine passport would work, the Orange County health agency’s director and health officer, Dr. Clayton Chau, told the O.C. Register that the county’s existing Othena vaccine scheduling app could be modified to include a credentialing feature.

The Othena app is being used to schedule vaccine appointments at the county’s mass inoculation sites, including at Disneyland.

Chau also told the outlet that printed cards could be issued for use by people who don’t use smartphones.

California Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón said last week that there are currently no plans to create a state-level vaccination passport system, although health officials are looking into formulating standards and guidelines around the use of such credentials, KTLA reported.

Aragón said that if federal authorities “don’t move fast enough” with developing such guidelines, “we will come up with technical standards that will be expected—really focusing on making sure that privacy is protected and that equity is protected.”

It comes amid controversy over vaccine passport-style systems, which have been proposed in some countries, and as some U.S. states and regions have either considered their adoption or moved forward with their deployment.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s latest emergency proclamation includes a plan for vaccine passports that would allow travelers to avoid quarantine and COVID-19 testing. While there is no timeline for its adoption and it still needs approval by the director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Lt. Gov. Josh Green told Hawaii News Now that the plan is to launch a pilot for inter-island travel by May 1.

New York state has also rolled out its “Excelsior Pass” system that would require people to show that they have been vaccinated when trying to enter certain events and locations.

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Additional source — LA Times:   https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-14/orange-county-supervisors-vaccine-passport-public-backlash