UPDATE 4/7/21: Dr. Drew has clarified his position on “vaccination passports” while appearing on the Daily Blast Live. He said, “I was asking a question, trying to get some engagement to see what people might feel if they were in that group. I am in favor of passports. I’m getting my vaccine tomorrow in spite of being a COVID recovery patient with high levels of antibodies. I didn’t say anything about my position, and of course, I know the sky is blue.”
“So my question was, what if suddenly our problem was restricted by other countries, preventing us from moving about by requiring, whatever they wanted to require? I wasn’t taking a position, well, my position is pro vaccine pro passport, I think it’s a good idea. But I’ve always worried that it created an out group. Whenever you create an out group, you’re creating segregation and I was worried about that so I thought, ‘How do other people feel?’. And people have lost their ability to read,” calling the uproar a “great exercise in fake news.”
ORIGINAL: 4/5/21: Dr. Drew Pinksy is being roasted on Twitter after complaining that proposed “vaccination passports,” proof that an individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19 so that they can travel, would violate personal freedoms. “These vaccine passports segregate people and strip them of their freedom to travel internationally,” the Loveline host tweeted on April 5. “Vaccinations are important, and I encourage everyone to get the COVID vaccine, but how would you feel if international travel also required other vaccinations?
Wait till Dr. Drew hears about public schools. https://t.co/a5SlFs4BjF
— Alex Tabarrok (@ATabarrok) April 5, 2021
Genius, we have literally been doing this for nearly a century.
Where the hell have you been? pic.twitter.com/Qq5qer5TAs
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) April 5, 2021
Well, international travel often does require other vaccinations. Dr. Drew was reminded of this important fact on Twitter. Traveling to Gambia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Libya, the Philippines, or Saudi Arabia? Proof of receiving the meningococcal meningitis vaccine is required, says WHO. Many countries require proof of receiving the Yellow Fever vaccine for travelers arriving from designated high-risk areas. An International Certificate of Vaccination against Smallpox was needed for travel until 1981, when Smallpox was eradicated — due to people getting vaccinated.
“Genius, we have literally been doing this for nearly a century,” one Twitter user aptly tweeted at the TV therapist. “Where the hell have you been?” They included a photo of a 1950s-era vaccination card, closely resembling what is handed to recipients of the COVID-19 shot. “It already does. Many countries require specific vaccinations for entry. did you get your doctorate from Trump University bro,” another person tweeted.
Another person pointed out that proof of vaccination is already required for many other reasons besides travel. To enroll in public school, for example, guardians need to provide their children’s immunization records. Replied one Twitter user, “I would feel like I have felt every time I’ve had to present proof of immunization anywhere, which I have been doing since I entered kindergarten in the early 1970s—grateful for advancements in science and public health!”
I would feel like I have felt every time I’ve had to present proof of immunization anywhere, which I have been doing since I entered kindergarten in the early 1970s—grateful for advancements in science and public health! pic.twitter.com/7TddDqYViI
— Dr. Beth Boquet (@elizabethboquet) April 5, 2021
The so-called vaccine passport, for the United States, isn’t going to be mandatory. The Biden administration is currently working on a “set of standards” before introducing the idea to the public. There will be no federal mandate that requires every American to have a vaccination credential, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
This isn’t the first time Dr. Drew has gotten in trouble for his comments about COVID-19. Nearly one year to the day, he apologized on Twitter for saying that the coronavirus was like the flu. “My early comments about equating coronavirus with influenza were wrong. They were incorrect. I was part of a chorus that was saying that. And we were wrong. And I want to apologize for that,” the Lifechangers host wrote. “I wish I had gotten it right, but I got it wrong.”