Colorado health officials explore virus vaccine passports

DENVER (AP) —

Colorado health department officials said they would explore the possibility of coronavirus vaccine passports.

As of Monday, there is no statewide program for vaccine passports, the Denver Post reported.

“While we are exploring what’s working in other states, anything we do will be specific to Colorado and our needs,” a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health and Environment said in an email. “A business could not access a customer’s protected health information, such as their COVID-19 immunization status, unless that person volunteered that information.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last Friday that any potential vaccine passports would be primarily directed by private businesses.

Vaccine passports have become a political flashpoint in the U.S. even as they have come into use in Israel and are under development in Europe. Some Republicans in the U.S. see them as heavy-handed government intrusion.

In New York, a government-sponsored vaccine passport called the Excelsior Pass is being introduced. The smartphone app will show whether someone has been vaccinated or recently tested negative for the coronavirus.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the idea is similar to letting an event venue usher use their own smartphone to scan a concertgoer’s code.

Live events in Colorado have already begun to open up as the U.S. continues its robust vaccine rollout. Red Rocks Amphitheatre was closed for most of the past year but will reopen later this month with a 2,500 person capacity. A spokesperson for the venue said it does not plan on having concertgoers show proof of vaccination yet.

“I don’t think anybody has come up with the right plan as of yet,” said Brian Kitts, a spokesperson for Denver Arts & Venues,...