Vaccine ‘passports’ means NJ would have to fight forgeries

A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced a measure, S3692, that would establish criminal penalties for the production, sale and use of false COVID Vaccination Record Cards.

Every Garden State resident that gets a COVID-19 vaccine is also given a card that includes their name, date of birth, their sex, what type of vaccine they received, when they got the shot or shots, the location where it was given and an account number.

Some New Jersey entertainment venues, including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, have announced they will require attendees to either provide a negative COVID test or a Vaccination Record Card to be able to attend a show or concert, and more are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks and months.

State Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union, said as time goes on, more events and travel companies are going to be requiring proof of vaccination.

“We should make sure that we act to ensure that people act responsibly and don’t replicate these cards without the necessary truth being told on them," he said.

He said as we move into a post-COVID world there will undoubtedly be certain vaccine requirements to get into sporting events and shows, on airplanes.

He pointed out the cards “don’t seem like they’re particularly difficult to replicate by anyone with a laser printer and or a scanner so we’d like to be able to get out in front of it to make sure that people don’t take any risks with their own health and endanger others."

He said under the proposed legislation, creating a fake card would be a serious crime.

The bill would also require the attorney general to establish a COVID-19 vaccination fraud prevention program.

Meanwhile Republican state Sen. Jim Holzapfel, R-Ocean, Assemblyman Greg McGuckin, R-Ocean, and Assemblyman John Catalano, R-Ocean, have introduced a bill that would prevent the use of COVID-19 vaccine passports in New Jersey that could lead to discrimination against people based on their vaccination status.

Discussions about creating a vaccine passport have been going on for months but so far no agreement has been reached to create this type of document in the Garden State.

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com