Ga. lawmakers vote to extend ban on vaccine passports, bill heads to the House

On Tuesday Georgia lawmakers voted to extend the ban on so-called “vaccine passports.”

They want to prevent state and local governments, including schools, from requiring employees to get the COVID vaccine. The law was set to expire in June.

The law essentially prohibits state governments from requiring COVID vaccines.

Alpharetta republican senator Greg Dolezal led to charge to make the ban permanent.

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“It prevents governments from discriminating against citizens based on their COVID vaccination status. We hear it referred to as a vaccine passport, so we’re essentially outlawing vaccine passports in Georgia,” he told Channel 2′s Richard Elliott.

Atlanta democratic Senator Nan Orrock opposed the original bill and opposes this one, too. She said the bill puts individual rights over public health concerns in a way that takes control away from local governments including school boards, and she told Channel 2 Action News it endangers people if another pandemic happens.

“There’s an antivax movement across the country that’s very reactionary and throws up all these alarms on individual freedom, and it totally throws out the window public health concerns which is the health of the entire community,” said Sen. Orrock.

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Senator Dolezal insists if there is another public health emergency, then the governor has the power to deal with it as necessary.

“This body can convene and give the authority to the governor which is sweeping authority under the emergency powers act to do what he would need to do in that scenario,” Sen. Dolezal said.

The bill passed the senate right along party lines.

It now goes over to the house.

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