Connecticut businesses, venues consider COVID-19 vaccine passports

Could a phone app that proves COVID vaccinations, like the Excelsior Pass app launched in New York, be a possibility in Connecticut? Gov. Ned Lamont says the state isn’t planning on one, but private businesses and venues might.

News 12 Staff

Apr 2, 2021, 9:43 PM

Updated 1,290 days ago

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Could a phone app that proves COVID vaccinations, like the Excelsior Pass app launched in New York, be a possibility in Connecticut? Gov. Ned Lamont says the state isn’t planning on one, but private businesses and venues might.
The Excelsior Pass is a vaccine passport of sorts and can grant access to spots like Madison Square Garden. It's a voluntary app that launched in New York this week.
Venues in Connecticut, however, are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Gov. Ned Lamont also says it's premature.
"I think the private sector will probably take the lead there. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said.
Some residents in the state say they'd be happy to use the app.
"I would because I work in the public," said Renee Santa Maria of Norwalk.
Liz and Steve Najarian of Norwalk say it's a great idea.
Dr. Albert Ko with Yale School of Public Health likes the idea too.
"Providing those incentives if you want to travel, if you want to go to a restaurant," he said. "There is a fine line between being too coercive and potentially stigmatizing people who decide not to take the vaccine, and actually defeating the purpose of getting more people taking the vaccine."
Other Connecticut residents are worried about privacy.
"There's a lot of spamming," says Beverly Foster of Stamford.
Santa Maria has privacy concerns too, "but it's better to know who has it and who doesn't have it, honestly. Because we all want to take these masks off and get on with our lives too."