Could vaccine passports soon be required to travel, attend large events?

CLEVELAND — As states continue to open up eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine, experts warn more private businesses may start to require proof of being vaccinated.

Vaccine passports are already being used overseas as a way for some industries to start returning to normal while minimizing the risk of spreading the virus.

So could airlines, private companies, and event venues soon require proof of the COVID-19 vaccine for customers?

“I would think that could happen over the next five, four, six weeks, eight weeks,” expert Mark Aulisio said.

Aulisio of Case Western Reserve University said it’s likely that it could soon be mandatory to be vaccinated to travel internationally, as well as attend places like sporting arenas and movie theaters.

“A secure thing like a vaccine passport would be a way to make that happen,” Aulisio said.

Two travelers flying to Florida from Cleveland Hopkins Wednesday night expressed opposing views about the possibility of such a passport.

“I think this is an okay idea if it helps other people in the public to avoid getting sick,” Virneese Fisher said. “If they make it mandatory like masks are mandatory and we have to wear it, so if they did make it mandatory that we had to get a vaccine and travel, that’s what we have to do. You know, you have to follow the rules.”

However, Logan Pagel isn’t convinced the passports would be effective.

“I think it’s kind of crazy to expect people to go along with something as crazy as that,” Pagel said. “No one’s asking me if I got a flu shot to go get a McDouble at McDonald’s, so I don’t see any reason why it’d be any different with COVID.”

Art Nittskoff has been a travel agent for nearly four decades, but business came to a screeching halt this time last year.

“Places were closed. Planes weren’t going. It was just a nightmare for months, just trying to get people re-booked and to get them refunds,” Nittskoff said.

Nittskoff said his cash flow is picking up and several of his customers are currently vacationing in Mexico and Las Vegas.

He said vaccine passports would add an extra layer of protection for travelers and ensure the travel industry continues on its upswing, but he acknowledged that not everyone agrees.

“They think, ‘Oh, if you have to have a passport to go into places that’s too much big brother.’ They feel like they’re going to be checked so that the government knows everywhere that they go,” Nittskoff said.

Aulisio said federal regulations regarding passports are unlikely.

“That’s not what is being considered by the Biden administration and I think they’ve ruled that out,” Aulisio said. “They’re being used in limited ways by airlines and other businesses to, in their eyes, better ensure the safety of their clients and their patrons.”

For now, Pagel is not on board with the idea.

“I think we should just keep going the way we’re going now and let people make their own decisions,” Pagel said.