Montgomery County Council introduced a measure Tuesday that would require patrons to show proof of vaccination, or what’s known as a ‘vaccine passport,’ before entering local businesses amid a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region.

The county’s health department introduced the council resolution, with the support of County Executive Marc Elrich. It requires anyone entering “covered establishments and facilities” including restaurants, fitness centers, indoor entertainment venues, and hotels to show proof of vaccination. The county would join the District and a handful of other cities — including New York, Chicago, and San Francisco — in establishing a vaccine passport to slow the spread of COVID-19.

While the measure still needs a council vote to take effect, the proposal offers a tentative schedule to gradually implement the vaccine mandate. If the resolution takes effect, starting Jan. 21, patrons 12 and older entering eligible Montgomery County businesses must show proof of at least one vaccine dose. Starting Feb. 15, the county will require two doses for patrons 12 years and older; and on March 1, that requirement will be extended to patrons between the ages of five and 11.

The proposal does not include a requirement for booster doses of the vaccine, Earl Stoddard, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer, told the council, because not everyone is eligible for a booster. He said it would place more burden on establishments to verify the person’s age and dates of previous vaccinations to determine if they are eligible for a booster.

“There are logistics to having a booster requirement, but from a public health perspective, it is certainly a worthwhile addition to have in there,” Stoddard said.

But Council President Gabe Albornoz said if boosters aren’t included then the resolution would “just be a symbolic gesture at best and not one that has true public health validity or efficacy.”

Patrons seeking to enter an eligible establishment will have to show their CDC vaccination record card or an online certificate from the Maryland MyIR website. They can also have a paper copy or cell phone photo of those records. Businesses with the vaccine passport must display signs in their windows notifying the public.

The proposal does have medical and religious exemptions, and also carves out an exemption for those entering a store for a “quick and limited purpose,” such as picking up an order or making a delivery. And some “covered establishments” are excluded from the vaccine mandate, including houses of worship, libraries, grocery stores and pharmacies, homeless shelters, day care facilities, senior centers, and medical offices.

Neil Sehgal a public health expert with the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, told DCist/WAMU that given the surge of hospitalizations across the state, the vaccine passport would be to get more people vaccinated.

“The more places that require people to get vaccinated, the more likely people are to get vaccinated,” Sehgal told DCist/WAMU.

The county is already one of the most vaccinated places in the country, Sehgal pointed out. At least 95% of county residents five years and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to county health data. Sehgal said requiring vaccines is not only helpful in reducing transmission rates, but also to preserve hospital capacity.

“Our healthcare system in the state of Maryland is collapsing under the weight of COVID-19 patients – nearly all of them unvaccinated,” Sehgal said. “Working to preserve hospital capacity is essential right now as we are in a state of emergency and as the state hasn’t taken other preventative measures like a statewide mask mandate.”

The District, meanwhile, will begin requiring proof of vaccination at businesses starting on Saturday. Stoddard told councilmembers Tuesday that Elrich and health officials were waiting for the District to implement a vaccine passport in order to “have a regional neighbor who was onboard with the policy.”

In New York City, a month after the vaccine passport was mandated, the overall vaccination rate increased by 9% and the rate for 18 to 34-year-olds increased by 13% in mid-October, according to NBC 4 New York. Out of 31,000 inspections of businesses in the first month of the mandate, then-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced only 15 were found to be in violation of it.

A public hearing on the Montgomery County’s measure is scheduled for next Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.