Vaccine ‘passports’ don’t exist here, yet 3 SLO County supervisors just voted against them

San Luis Obispo County supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to support a vocal, statewide campaign against coronavirus vaccine “passports” — even though neither the county nor the state has such a document.

Supervisors will send a letter in support of AB 327, a bill by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Sacramento, that would ban public and private entities that receive state funds from verifying customers’ COVID-19 vaccine status “as a condition of receipt of any service or entrance to any place.” The board also added the position to its legislative platform.

Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg voted no.

Gibson called the discussion “a bit of political theater for ideological allies,” and compared Kiley’s bill to a “snowflake in the Sahara.”

“It’s not going anywhere,” he said.

Supervisors John Peschong, Lynn Compton and Debbie Arnold offered no comments on the merits of the bill.

Arnold had first proposed sending the letter of support after hearing hours of recorded public comments deriding vaccine verification during the board’s May 4 meeting.

County officials expected another marathon session on Tuesday. But this time, the board listened to only around a dozen or so recorded calls and then voted to enter the remainder on the record, without playing them during the meeting.

The calls that were played echoed many of the objections voiced earlier.

Callers again described the COVID vaccines as experimental and said the government has no right to discriminate against anyone who chooses not to take the shots.

One caller worried that people who aren’t vaccinated “will not be able to get food and essential services.”

Another caller accused Gibson and Ortiz-Legg of supporting vaccine passports, yet neither supervisor has made any such statement.

While California health officials say they have no intention of issuing vaccine passports, proof of vaccination is being required in some cases.

California’s UC and CSU campuses, including Cal Poly, are requiring students to be vaccinated starting this fall, if one or more of the vaccines gets full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Some sporting venues, such as the San Francisco Giants stadium, already require proof of vaccination, and convention centers may require it as well.

Proof of vaccination also is required for some international travel.

This article has been updated to clarify vaccination requirements for university students.

This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 6:18 PM.