WATCH: Covid Advisor Andy Slavitt Explains How a ‘Vaccine Passport’ During the Biden Administration Could Work

Americans who have been vaccinated will soon want to travel abroad. How can they prove that without succumbing to some sort of private database, certain to be irresponsibly framed as an Orwellian tracking system by the sorts of people who trade in such conspiracies?

Covid Advisor Andy Slavitt explained the approach that the Biden Administration is taking to providing some sort of proof of vaccination, or a “vaccine passport” for future travelers.

It came in response to USA Today’s Elizabeth Weise, who noted during Monday morning’s Covid Press Briefing how other countries have started requiring some type of vaccination proof to enter those countries. She then asked, “Is there anything under discussion at the federal level to provide some type of vaccine passport?”

Slavitt opened by first noting how this is something they have heard also and showed that he was prepared to answer. “Americans are asking the question, ‘How will I be able to demonstrate reliable that I’ve been vaccinated?'”

He then started on the front foot of potential conspiracy theories, by explaining the foundation of their strategy.

“We have a couple of core beliefs about that,” Slavitt said. “One is that it is not the role of the government to hold that data and to do that. But we do believe that the way that gets done there is a right way and a way that is not as good.”

He added “The right way is it should be private, the data should be secure, and the access to it should be free. It should be available digitally and in paper, and in multiple languages. And it should be open source.”

“Those are the right kind of principles for someone to be able to have, or to be able to demonstrate that they have had a vaccine,” he concluded. “We know that there are efforts underway, led by nonprofit collaboratives and the private sector all working on exactly that type of thing.”

The People’s Republic of China unveiled a QR code system for its citizens’ smartphones nearly a year ago, which allows people to prove that they are either vaccinated or have had the coronavirus. The idea of a centralized database of US medical records has raised eyebrows but has also been lauded in other countries as part of a well-oiled and efficient system, like, say in Israel.

Watch above via CSPAN.