Vaccine passports: why the market must decide

In this opinion piece, Robert Field argues that the marketplace, not state laws, should determine whether companies can require proof of vaccination from customers and staff.

Field is a joint tenure professor of law and professor of health policy and management at Drexel University and is an adjunct fellow at Penn's Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. (This article originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

"No shoes, no shirt, no service." He almost certainly saw those words on a sign outside a store near a beach on a summer day. What about - "no vaccination, no verification, no visit"? Will we see those words soon?

The CDC says you can now shop without a mask if you've been vaccinated. Several major retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Costco, have removed the mask requirements in response. How do they know that you have been vaccinated if you enter without a mask? You are for your honor.

Other companies may want to be more careful, for example health clubs and smaller specialty stores where customers have close contact with staff. They may prefer something stronger than the honor system, and many of their potential clients may feel the same way.

A growing number of private organizations have embarked on this path. More than 100 colleges will require students to be vaccinated before they can return in the fall. All cruise lines do this too, and some airlines are considering doing the same. There is too much risk in those settings to accept the words of customers.

Several countries are developing systems to verify vaccination. Green passes are required in Israel to attend concerts and sporting events. The European Union is considering a verification system, as are several countries, including Denmark, China, and Japan. New York State is developing an application called Excelsior Pass that stores vaccination data. All of these systems also provide documentation of Covid recovery or a recent negative test result.

In the United States, it is unlikely that there will be a national system. It can be a logistical nightmare and cause significant privacy concerns. However, prudent retailers may request that customers without a mask show at least one CDC card stating their vaccination. This is not a big step to requiring clients to cover their chests and bare feet when stepping in from their beach towel. Virus droplets that unvaccinated clients may inadvertently breathe out undoubtedly pose a greater health risk than sand and seawater that half-dressed clients can accidentally lose.

You have no right to insist on going into a private business, regardless of your hygiene status. On the contrary, companies have a legitimate interest in making their buildings as hygienic as possible. If a customer can't bear the thought of going back to her beach towel to pick up unkempt clothes, she can try another store. A client who is unable to present proof of vaccination or a mask can do the same.

Hygiene companies can find themselves attracting more customers by appealing to safety-conscious individuals. If, on the other hand, they find that your policies are leading to bankruptcy, they can reevaluate it. That is the working market.

"If the public does not want companies to demand vaccination tests, the market will speak."

Several states, including Arizona, Florida, Iowa and Texas, have passed or are considering laws to circumvent the market and prohibit private companies from requiring proof of vaccination, no matter what they or their customers want. Those laws replace the freedom of private companies and individuals to decide how safe they want to be in command of politicians. If the public does not want companies to require vaccination tests, the market will speak. Politicians don't need to anticipate this.

Hopefully, as the number of Covid cases continues to drop, vaccination verification will disappear as a concern. Meanwhile, those who want to make themselves and those around them as safe as possible should be free to do so.