“The real reason there’s no vaccine passport pushed in the past is because of the backlash … from majority white conservatives,” said social justice advocate Rev. Charles Boyer. He says fear of voter backlash — not concern over vaccine equity — has kept Gov. Phil Murphy from mandating COVID-19 vaccination passports before the general election.
Murphy disagrees, noting, “I’m going to say with great respect, politics doesn’t enter this and it never has.” But analysts and health experts say it’s tough to separate politics from policy in the week before Election Day. And with up to 70% of New Jersey’s African American community vaccinated and up to 85% of Latinx residents, does the equity argument stand?
