ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday that bans the state government from requiring proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, joining other Republican-led states in restricting the use of so-called "vaccine passports."
"While I continue to urge all Georgians to get vaccinated so we continue our momentum of putting the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview, vaccination is a personal decision between each citizen and a medical professional - not the state government," Kemp said in a statement.
The governor's order applies to state agencies, state service providers and state properties. It also forbids officials from requiring proof of vaccination to travel to Georgia, and states that official immunization records cannot be shared to create a vaccine program.
The order doesn't extend to private businesses or organizations, which could rely on digital passes to make it easier for people to show they've been inoculated in order to travel, attend events and take part in other activities.
The idea has fast become a charged political debate, with Republican officials and lawmakers scrambling to block government officials from requiring a vaccine passport.
The Biden administration has said it won't require Americans to carry a credential, and that there won't be a federal vaccination database or a federal mandate requiring citizens to obtain a proof of vaccination.
But some businesses and schools are moving forward with their plans. Several universities have said they'll require students in the fall to prove they've been inoculated, and some sports teams have opened special sections for the vaccinated.
In response, several Republican-led states have scrambled to restrict the passports. The most recent is Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law that prohibited any government entity from issuing vaccine passports and blocked businesses from requiring the documentation.
Kemp's order is just the latest in a series of moves aimed at shoring up the conservative base ahead of a tough reelection bid. The first-term Republican signed into law an overhaul of elections that included new voting restrictions, condemned "critical race theory" and toured a section of the U.S. border with Mexico in recent weeks.