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EXPLAINER: Will we need vaccine passports to do fun things?

FILE - Security personnel ask customers for proof of vaccination as they enter City Winery, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that later this month the city will begin requiring anyone dining indoors at a restaurant, working out a gym or grabbing cocktails at a bar to show proof they've been inoculated. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE - Security personnel ask customers for proof of vaccination as they enter City Winery, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that later this month the city will begin requiring anyone dining indoors at a restaurant, working out a gym or grabbing cocktails at a bar to show proof they've been inoculated. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File) FILE - Security personnel ask customers for proof of vaccination as they enter City Winery, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that later this month the city will begin requiring anyone dining indoors at a restaurant, working out a gym or grabbing cocktails at a bar to show proof they've been inoculated. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

By MATT O'BRIEN / AP Technology Writer 6 min read

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – Ready to go out on the town before summer ends? In parts of the U.S., you might have to carry your COVID-19 vaccine card or a digital copy to get into restaurants, bars, nightclubs and outdoor music festivals.

After resisting the divisive concept of vaccine passports through most of the pandemic, a fast-growing number of private venues and some local officials are now requiring proof of immunization in public settings to reduce the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus – and to assuage wary customers.

It’s unlikely the U.S. will adopt a national mandate like the one in France, which on Monday began requiring people to show a QR code proving they have a special virus pass before they can enjoy restaurants and cafes or travel across the country.

But enough venues are starting to ask for digital passes to worry some privacy advocates, who fear the trend could habituate consumers to constant tracking.

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