Alabama committee backs ban on vaccine requirements

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Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris receives his second COVID-19 vaccine shot at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Ala., Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Alabama lawmakers inched closer to approving a ban on so-called vaccine passports that would require proof of coronavirus vaccination to access services from a business or state agency.

The House Health Committee voted Wednesday to send the bill to House of Representatives for a vote. It has already cleared the Alabama Senate.

The bill contains a number of exceptions. Surgeons, dentists, medical institutions, hospitals and other health care providers are exempted.

Universities could still require students to receive a vaccine, however there would be exceptions for vaccines approved for “emergency use” by the FDA. The COVID-19 vaccines are approved for such emergency use.

The idea of so-called vaccine passports is to have a document that shows you were vaccinated against COVID-19. Federal officials say there are no plans to make them broadly mandatory, but some Republican governors have issued orders barring businesses or state agencies from asking people to show proof of vaccination.

The Senate approved the bill earlier this month by a 30-0 vote.

Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.