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Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of HealthSarah Silbiger-Pool / Getty Images

(LifeSiteNews) – Echoing the calls of other American public figures, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said Sunday he is supportive of businesses requiring customers to prove they have received an experimental coronavirus vaccine.

On Sunday, Dr. Francis Collins spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union” and revealed his belief that vaccine passports should be mandated by private businesses.

CNN journalist Anchor Jake Tapper asked Collins, “Do you think as a public health measure it would be good for more businesses to require vaccine credentials in order to have vaccinated customers?”

“As a public health person who wants to see this pandemic end, yes,” Collins responded. “I think anything we can do to encourage reluctant folks to get vaccinated because they’ll want to be part of these public events, that’s a good thing.”

“I’m delighted to see employers like Disney and Walmart coming out and asking their staff to be vaccinated,” Collins continued, also praising President Biden for mandating vaccines for all federal employees who don’t want to submit to COVID tests twice a week.

“I oversee NIH, with 40,000 people need to get vaccinated or if they’re not, to get regular testing which is inconvenient. All of those steps, I think is in the right direction,” he stated. “Maybe that’s what it will take for some of those who have still been a little reluctant to say, ‘okay, it’s time.’”

“The data will support the decision. They are making the right choice for their own safety. Sometimes it takes a nudge,” he said, suggesting that limiting unvaccinated people’s access to grocery stores is only a “nudge.”

Tucker Carlson addressed Collins’s statement on Tuesday during “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” saying, “Francis Collins at the same time wants you to know that even if you have been vaccinated, you can’t go back to your normal life.”

“The vaccine is perfect – but you still have to wear a mask and can’t go outside,” Tucker continued, paraphrasing Collins.

 

 

“Collins did not explain how unvaccinated people could possibly pose a threat to vaccinated people, because remember that the vaccines work so well, we have to mandate them for public health reasons,” he stated.

“But at the same time people who have been vaccinated are threatened by those who don’t,” he said, pointing out the inconsistency. “Are you following this? Does it make any sense to you at all? Do you need a medical degree to know it’s complete nonsense? No, you don’t.”

Collins failed to address the concerns which many Americans have with taking the experimental vaccine, including a lack of evidence that it is effective and the many reports of serious side effects. Collins also failed to address what he thinks should happen to people unable to take the vaccine due to allergies or severe reaction to the first dose of the vaccine (myocarditis, blood clots, Guillain-Barré syndrome).

Both CNN reporters and guests have repeatedly voiced their support for limiting the activities of unvaccinated people and the implementation of so-called vaccine passports.

Already, when Americans receive a coronavirus vaccine, they are issued a wallet-sized proof of vaccination card, which can be used as proof of vaccine.

Beginning in September, New York City will require proof of coronavirus vaccine to enter or work in gyms, restaurants, and entertainment venues.

Manitoba, Canada is currently requiring immunization cards to access nonessential services like cinemas, which a lawyer from a top Canadian constitutional legal firm affirmed is the same as a vaccine passport.

In France, the government plans to implement compulsory COVID-19 “vaccination” and COVID-19 status rules obliging each citizen to show a QR-code sanitary pass to access large shopping centers, restaurants, cafés, bars, cinemas, theaters, hospitals, cultural and leisure venues receiving more than 50 visitors, and long-distance public transportation.

In response to this mandate, the French people have risen up in massive protests across the country, with some drawing hundreds of thousands of people.

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