US Arizona governor prohibits government organizations from requiring 'vaccine passports'

LOS ANGELES -- Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order on Monday banning "vaccine passports," preventing local governments from requiring residents of the state to provide their COVID-19 vaccine status in order to receive service or enter a specific area.

Under the executive order, state agencies, counties, cities and towns cannot issue a measure that requires an individual to provide documentation of their COVID-19 vaccination status in order 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 vaccination documentation, while private businesses are not prohibited from requiring such documentation in order to provide services or allow entry.

The health care institutions, schools, child care centers and universities were allowed to collect vaccination documentation.

Ducey explained that even though the state authority strongly recommend all residents to get vaccine against COVID-19 but they could not be forced to share their private medical information.

Arizona on March 24 opened vaccination eligibility to all residents 16 and older, allowing everyone who wants the vaccine to register for an appointment. As of Monday, 4,495,519 vaccine doses have been administered to 2,736,235 individual in the Grand Canyon state, with 1,926,181 Arizonans now fully vaccinated.