California plans to roll out a statewide electronic vaccine verification program, which Gov. Gavin Newsom does not call a passport. As the state fully reopens this Tuesday, businesses can still enforce their own COVID-19 safety measures, but the pending verification system could allow them to eventually check customers’ vaccination status.
“There are a lot of anxieties around people manufacturing these [fake] vaccine cards online and selling them to people. The attorney general, the governor's office have put out warnings of these fraudulent cards,” says Emily Hoeven, who writes the daily WhatMatters newsletter for CalMatters. “I think this online system is one way they're going to try to make sure that people are telling the truth.”