Way back when I was in my early 20s I routinely got carded when going into a bar or nightclub. There wasn’t much question about this and the system worked, other than the occasional fake card. Same with a driver’s license, identification, car registration, and proof of car insurance cards. I didn’t like it but I was required to have a draft card as well. Today, I’ve got to ask for senior discounts and sometimes I’m asked for ID to prove I’m of that certain age to get that 10 percent off.
So, with something like half our population not yet getting vaccinated, essentially putting the entire nation at risk, why not have a card to prove we’ve been vaccinated? Makes sense, doesn’t it. You want to enjoy a sit down meal at a restaurant, show your card. You want onto to a plane to travel to see family or take a trip overseas, show your card. You want to take a cruise, show your card. You want into your favorite gym, show your card. You want to go to a concert, show your card. Like to go to a museum, or botanical garden or zoo, no problem if you have a vaccine card. Do you want to enter or camp in a state or national park, sure, just show your card and pay your fee. For a time, it’s still safest to wear a mask, but if you don’t have a qualifying card–I’d like to see something official like a drivers license–you don’t get in, mask or no mask. Some states have agricultural check points at borders. So they could also have vaccine card check points. This pandemic and its ramifications are serious enough to warrant the inconvenience.
In other words, the government would not be requiring people to get vaccinated but would reward those who have gotten the jabs to get out and do more things, have more fun, enjoy life more. If you’re an ostrich with your head in the sand thinking the pandemic is a hoax, then you pay the consequences with having little opportunity to do just about anything of interest. I would even consider requiring enforcement of this at food markets, forcing people without cards to order their food for curbside pickup or at home delivery.
Too harsh? Too punitive? In WWII, ration cards were issued and their use tightly enforced. People were inconvenienced to support the war effort. And they did, without much protest. Well, the Covid pandemic is not unlike a major war, and if we want a society that is free and protected and safe from infection, then we need a vaccine passport to better insure that happening.
While we have Democratic control of both Houses and the Presidency, start sending emails and making calls to make that happen. So people can then show a I have my vaccine card. Do you? sticker and be proud of it. Some states are using a lottery, open only to the vaccinated, and that’s a step in the right direction. But I think my above suggestion will be an even greater incentive to get vaccinated now as the get out and about summer approaches.
Btw, the UK is rolling out a comparable program with people showing their National Health Services app proving vaccination. So come on: If the Brits can do it, so can we!
