The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, may be trying to prevent vaccination proof to board cruise ships emanating from Miami and other Florida ports but he can’t prevent the public from demanding vaccination proof for those wanting to book a cruise.

Now reported in the Los Angeles Times is reporting the Hollywood Bowl’s plan to require 85% of all attendees to provide proof of vaccination.  The remaining seats will be reserved for those arriving to provide a negative test result.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are providing sections of the stadium for fully vaccinated guests.  The San Francisco Giants have a check in verification booth.

The San Francisco Giants have a check in verification booth. “Of course, it is a form of a vaccine passport,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious-disease expert. “What is happening to vaccine passports is the same thing that happened with masks,” Swartzberg said. “It has become politicized, and that is really just unfortunate.”

In real life, the United States has had vaccine verification campaigns to curb smallpox outbreaks. At the turn of the 20th century, proof of vaccinations was required in some places to go to work and school, ride trains and even attend theaters. Health officials often demanded to see a vaccination scar rather than rely on certifications that could be forged.

President Biden does have the rule of law if he should decide to implement vaccination passports. In 1905, the Supreme Court upheld state laws that require vaccination for communicable diseases. In a 7-2 decision, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “the rights of the individual … may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”

It’s OK with me if you the government gives the passports another name.