Coronavirus Watch: Can a business require proof of vaccination?

Is it legal for a business to ask for proof that you're vaccinated? 

Currently, you don't have to flash your COVID-19 vaccine card in most businesses in order to shop or to get a table. However, businesses are generally free to require that customers show proof of vaccination, sometimes known as a "vaccine passport."

"A business can absolutely ask that question," said Lindsay Wiley, director of the Health Law and Policy Program at American University Washington College of Law. Read more here.

It's Friday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• The United Kingdom has approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children ages 12-15. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said clinical trial data showed the vaccine was "safe and effective in this age group."
• An index of "pandemic misery" released this week by USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research found that 80% of people involved in the survey experienced hardships in the past year – and that number was even higher for Black and Latino people, who were more likely to know someone who died from COVID-19.
• The U.S. economy added 559,000 jobs in May and unemployment fell to 5.8% as cases fell and more states reopened, a jobs report released Friday shows.

Check out USA TODAY’s America Forward, a special edition exploring the myriad ways the pandemic has changed our lives, and how the nation has pivoted to adapt to a new COVID-19 normal.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 33 million COVID-19 cases and 596,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 172 million cases and more than 3.7 million deaths. About 51% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and more than 41% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck