White House rules out involvement in vaccine passports

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the Biden administration will not play a role in vaccine passport system, as more Republican governors and politicians have come out against the idea.

"The government is not now, nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential," Psaki said. "There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential."

States and other countries are considering such a program, in which those full vaccinated would show proof and be allows to travel and have access to business and other places those with such credentials would not. 

Psaki government should defer to private corporations and individuals on whether they want to adopt such a passport system.

"Our interest is very simple from the federal government, which is American's privacy and rights should be protected so that these systems are not used against people unfairly," she said.

Psaki made the announcement the same day Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a ban on government-mandated vaccine passports in his state. Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis, of Florida, and Tate Reeves, of Mississippi, have also opposed such programs.