Gov. Doug Ducey banned "vaccine passports" in an executive order issued April 19 that prevents state and local governments from requiring Arizonans to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status to receive service or enter an area.
“The residents of our state should not be required by the government to share their private medical information,” Ducey said in a statement. “While we strongly recommend all Arizonans get the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s not mandated in our state — and it never will be. Vaccination is up to each individual, not the government.”
Under the order, government entities including state agencies, counties, cities and towns cannot require an individual to provide documentation of his or her COVID-19 vaccination status to enter a business, building or area or to receive a government service, permit or license. Businesses contracting with the state to provide services to the public also cannot require documentation.
However, private businesses can require vaccination documentation to provide service or allow entry, and health care institutions, schools, child-care centers and universities may also collect vaccination documentation. The order ensures that long-term care, health care institutions and other entities that collect vaccination documents under current law can still do so.
To date, 4,495,519 vaccine doses have been administered to 2,736,235 individuals, with 1,926,181 Arizonans now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The state is operating six vaccination sites, with one more location opening as state-run site this month.
Arizona opened vaccination eligibility to all Arizonans 16 and older on March 24, allowing everyone who wants the vaccine to register for an appointment.
Ducey bans government entities from requiring 'vaccine passport'
Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order April 19 to ban vaccine passports. (Community Impact staff)
By Tom Blodgett
Editor, Gilbert
Raised in Arizona, Tom Blodgett has spent more than 30 years in journalism in Arizona and joined Community Impact Newspaper in July 2018 to launch the Gilbert edition. He is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 2005-19 and remains editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet.