Vaccine passports? We'll pass

Sometimes, it seems that under liberal Democratic governments, everything is either illegal or mandatory. So even as the federal government is halting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and slow-walking approval of the AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines, there’s talk of requiring vaccination for some activities.

“Vaccine passports” is the term being thrown about, and it’s a contentious issue. The right answer is straightforward if not totally simple: Governments should not require vaccination for access to any public or private service; private businesses should have the right to do so, but such restrictions would generally be a strategic and moral error.