Can the Government Force You to Get COVID-19 Vaccine? Questions Surround Vaccine Passports

  • Date: 06-Apr-2021
  • Source: Newsweek
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Gulf
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Can the Government Force You to Get COVID-19 Vaccine? Questions Surround Vaccine Passports

The government can't force a person to be vaccinated, but it's likely within its power to require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine to engage in certain activities, including attending events."Vaccine passports," a means of proving a person's vaccination status, have been floated as a way of increasing capacity at certain events as America crawls toward normalcy. President Joe Biden's administration doesn't have any current plans to implement them at a nationwide level, but even the prospect of the measure prompted criticism for it being an invasion of people's privacy and an infringement on a person's ability to choose whether to get vaccinated.Congress could potentially have the power to mandate vaccines under the commerce clause, experts told Newsweek and states could institute mandates under the 10th Amendment. However, a mandate can't force someone to be vaccinated against their will, it can only impose restrictions on a non-vaccinated person.Those who aren't vaccinated could be prevented from engaging in interstate travel, Laurence Tribe, a Carl M. Loeb University professor at Harvard Law School, told Newsweek, and entering places where social distancing and mask-wearing wouldn't be sufficient in preventing virus transmission."Private businesses could require proof of vaccination by those seeking entry unless prohibited from