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TALLAHASSEE, Florida, March 30, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) –– Following reports from New York state detailing the roll-out of its newly developed “Excelsior Pass” vaccine passport scheme, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has promised he will not support implementing “any vaccine passports in the state of Florida.”

In a press conference held on Monday, the governor sharply rebuffed the notion of vaccine credentials, arguing that it is “completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you [the public] the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.”

Taking one of the experimental mRNA shots has been advised by state officials for the very vulnerable, with DeSantis saying, “it’s important to be able to do it.” At the same time, he also vowed that “we were not going to force you to do it … we always wanted to say, ‘we provide it for all, mandate it for none.’”

DeSantis doubled down, maintaining that “[t]here was never under discussion any mandates to take vaccines, we will not have COVID vaccines mandated in Florida … we are not going to have you provide proof of this just to be able to live your life normally.”

He gave examples of places that might seek proof of vaccination with one of the abortion-tainted products, like movie theaters and theme parks, insisting that such a state of affairs would not be permitted in Florida: “We’re not supportive of that.”

He also warned of the dangers associated with handing over sensitive medical information to “some big corporation” via vaccine passport systems, likening the situation to allowing “the fox to guard the henhouse.”

“I mean, give me a break! … This is something that has huge privacy implications, it is not necessary to do,” he said. “People have certain freedoms and individual liberties to make decisions for themselves.”

In the coming days, perhaps as soon as Tuesday, DeSantis has pledged to sign an executive order banning the implementation of so-called vaccine passports for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s administration has begun working with private sector businesses on establishing COVID-19 vaccine credentials technology, according to a report in the leftist Washington Post.

So far, the Biden administration has identified at least 17 vaccine passport initiatives, including one led by the disgraced World Health Organization, and another called the Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI), The Washington Post reported. More than 225 organizations, including Microsoft, already have pledged to use the VCI’s forthcoming app.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted that “a determination or development of a vaccine passport, or whatever you want to call it, will be driven by the private sector.” The government, she assured, will simply “provide guidance, just as we have, through the CDC.”

“There will be no centralized, universal federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential,” she pledged.

Numerous countries have either introduced vaccine passports, or are considering introducing them. Most recently, EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said the European Union’s brand-new “Digital Green Certificate” — or “sanitary certificate,” as he called it — has been approved by the 27 EU member states and will be released on June 15.

LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.