Milwaukee City Wire

While not yet planning to impose any COVID-19 restrictions upon city residents, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett fully supports private businesses implementing their own requirements to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus' new delta variant.

"The mayor is focused on getting as many people as possible vaccinated in Milwaukee, and that includes door-to-door outreach – particularly in neighborhoods where vaccination rates are low," City of Milwaukee Communications Director Jeff Fleming said when asked if Barrett is considering requiring vaccine passports similar to New York City. "He remains in constant communications with our health department and, as the situation warrants, we will follow the science and the disease trends to modify our response. At this stage, new city-imposed restrictions and requirements are not imminent. Private-sector businesses are adding additional restrictions and requirements, and the mayor feels those are entirely appropriate."

Government officials nationwide are making decisions as to whether vaccine passports or mandates are necessary. New York City was the first to require proof of vaccination for those who wish to dine indoors, attend shows or go to gyms. 

"This is a miraculous place, literally filled with wonders, If you’re vaccinated, you can open the door," New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said, as reported by Fox News. "If you’re unvaccinated, you will not be able to participate in many things. It’s time for people to see vaccination as necessary to living a good, full and healthy life."

Boston Mayor Kim Janey disagrees with De Blasio, mainly because non-Asian minorities and people with low income have the lowest vaccination rates, Fox News reported.

"We know that requiring vaccines in public venues will have a disproportionate impact on low-income families, and in communities of color," she said. "Our focus in Boston is to make sure that we are getting those vaccination numbers up across every neighborhood and in every community. There’s a long history in this country of people needing to show their papers, whether we're talking about this from the standpoint of during slavery, post-slavery and as recent as what the immigrant population has to go through."

The Wisconsin House passed a measure that would ban vaccine passports in the state. However, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has signaled he would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk, reported wjfw.com. 

So far proof of vaccination is not required in Wisconsin. The bill banning passports was introduced by House Speaker Pro Tempore Tyler August.

“If you're a health care institution, you may want to ask those questions," Evers said of vaccine requirements, as reported by Fox Business. "Certainly Lawrence University is already out in front of this, asking, requiring students and therefore asking them to show proof."

Twenty-one states have either passed legislation or the governors have issued executive orders banning vaccine passports. The governors of Alaska, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Montana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming have banned vaccine passports by executive order. Utah, North Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Alaska, and Arkansas have passed measures, signed by their governors, banning vaccine passports. 

New York, Hawaii, California and Oregon have exempted vaccinated individuals from certain restrictions, requiring proof of vaccination.