For now, the answer is almost always the same, whether you're traveling domestically or internationally: No, you don't. But you may need one to get into your favorite restaurant.
"Vaccination passports are a hot topic as governments begin to discuss how to open global economies safely," says Carrie Dolan, director of the public health-focused Ignite multidisciplinary research lab in William & Mary’s Global Research Institute. "Currently, there is no widespread adoption of a COVID-19 vaccination passport on a cross-national basis."
Put differently, there's no standard verifying a vaccination. Instead, there are various vaccination passports – New York's Excelsior Pass, California's Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, or Maryland MyIR.
By the way, authorities have gone out of their way not to call them vaccination passports, but for better or worse, the name has stuck. And even though it's a political hot-button – several states, including Florida and Texas, have banned vaccination passports – the name is appropriate.
"Most countries will accept the CDC's COVID Vaccination Record certification to allow you into the country," says Darko Ivanoski, founder and CEO of ESTAForm, an online travel authorization platform. That's the little white card you receive when you get your vaccination.
Tourism authorities say it's the closest thing the United States has to a vaccination passport, at least for now. The Biden administration has already said the federal government will stay out of issuing a formal vaccination passport.
✈Where would your vaccination passport take you? Let us know in the comments!
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