Gov. Charlie Baker wants everyone to know he does not support a vaccine mandate statewide — \u00ab\u00a0period.\u201d<\/b>
\nGov. Charlie Baker wants everyone to know he does not support a vaccine mandate statewide \u2014 \u201cperiod.\u201d His unequivocal stance comes after he went on radio and said a digital vaccine verification system may soon be coming to Massachusetts. The floodgates opened and he was hit with a barrage of questions about how and why it will be implemented. Baker emphasized that he has \u201cnever supported or agreed to any sort of statewide vaccine mandate program\u201d several times, and added that he doesn\u2019t plan to in the future. He explained that the mandate is only in place for people who \u201cwant to go to a wedding or to a church, or to a restaurant where proof of vaccination is required,\u201d he said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about creating a mandate or a statewide initiative of any kind, we just want to make sure that people have the ability, if they\u2019ve been vaccinated and want to have proof that they\u2019ve been vaccinated, that they can easily download it onto their phone and use it whenever they need to,\u201d Baker said. Baker also didn\u2019t weigh in on the broader use of the technology, which he said will be rolled out \u201csoon,\u201d throughout an unnamed city, for example. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has recently hinted that she\u2019s considering a \u201cvaccine passport\u201d system similar to the one in New York City, which requires patrons to show their vaccination status before entering venues like gyms, theaters and restaurants. \u201cWe said from the very beginning of the pandemic that we\u2019re going to pursue one set of rules that we consider to be important at the state level, but we\u2019re going to give locals a lot of latitude with respect to how they want to play it at the local level,\u201d Baker said, making no mention of Boston or Wu. Though the governor touted the ease of verification availability on people\u2019s smartphones, even as the ACLU of Massachusetts has raised concerns. The organization\u2019s executive director, Carol Rose, said the ACLU doesn\u2019t oppose the idea of proof of vaccination as a whole due to the public health implications. However, she advised that state leaders should protect privacy by preventing the technology from tracking and saving people\u2019s movements and prohibiting companies from selling personal data. \u201cPolicymakers also must address the equity issues involved in promoting smartphone technology, ensuring that vaccine credentialing systems include reasonable accommodations for those who do not own smartphones or have other access issues,\u201d she added. Ten states, New York, California, Hawaii, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Louisiana, Washington, Michigan and Minnesota, are already using vaccine passports.<\/p>\n