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Up To Date

The Ethics And Politics Of Vaccine Passports

By Steve Kraske,
Zach Wilson
Published April 14, 2021 at 4:28 PM CDT
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Woman seated (right) while receiving COVID-19 vaccination in February 2021.
Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3
The U.S. government has decided to leave laws pertaining to vaccine passports up to the states.

As more Americans receive COVID-19 vaccines, Missouri and other state legislatures are debating whether they should implement a vaccine passport system.

While proof of vaccination has the potential to get us back to normalcy more quickly, it can also exacerbate the inequities in the American vaccine distribution system. In this episode, the ethical debate over the passports and the steps Republicans in Missouri's statehouse are taking to prevent them from becoming required.

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Up To Date Missouri SenateMissouri governmentethicsbioethicsvaccinesPodcast
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Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
See stories by Steve Kraske
Zach Wilson
As Up To Date’s senior producer, I want to pique the curiosity of Kansas Citians and help them understand the world around them. Each day, I construct conversations with our city’s most innovative visionaries and creatives, while striving to hold elected officials accountable and amplifying the voices of everyday Kansas Citians. Email me at zach@kcur.org.
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