Letter to Oregon Governor Brown to End Vaccine Passports

Twenty three members of the Oregon House of Representatives signed a letter to Governor Kate Brown asking to end vaccine passports immediately.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Honorable Kate Brown
Office of the Governor
900 Court Street, NE
Suite 254
Salem, Oregon 97301

Governor Brown,

We send this letter to request that the state aligns its COVID-19 mask policy with Washington and California, and adopts updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On May 16, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. Both the White House and the CDC have stated that the federal government will never support a vaccine verification system, nor have they mandated that businesses do so.

In response, Washington Governor Jay Inslee updated the Healthy Washington proclamation:

“…business owners may adopt an ‘honor system’ and may assume that any customer who is not wearing a face covering has been fully vaccinated. [The proclamation] further clarifies that business owners and local authorities have the option to require that customers wear a face covering, and that local authorities may not prohibit business owners from requiring that their customers wear a face covering.”

California announced that it would align with the CDC’s mask guidance on June 15, when they intend to fully reopen their economy. The state’s Health and Human Services Director, Dr. Mark Ghaly, told reporters that California is not considering or requiring a vaccine passport for vendors.

Unlike Washington and California, Oregon’s response to the announcement from the White House and the CDC puts pressure on businesses and exposes front-line workers to confrontation. Patrons are required to either display proof of vaccination as a passport or continue to wear masks regardless of their vaccine or immunity status. Both options for businesses contradict CDC guidelines.

At the beginning of the pandemic Oregon committed to aligning regulations with Washington and California. We should not become an outlier now. We are reaching the end of the pandemic and should be lifting mandates, not adding new ones.

We request that you end this vaccine passport/verification system immediately. It is time to place our trust in Oregonians again. They have earned it.

Respectfully,

Letter to Governor Brown to End Vaccine Passports PDF