The following lines need to be added to the vmx configuration file.
usb.generic.allowCCID = "TRUE"
usb.ccid.disable = "TRUE"
That will make the SmartCard reader device not shareable between host and VM(s) and between VMs. The Removable devices menu will no longer show the (Shared) device (depending on the reader brand/model, some show the "shared" some don't before the lines are added).
If you don't want the setting to be repeated in every VM, need to put in %PROGRAMDATA%\VMware\VMware Workstation\config.ini for Windows hosts and /etc/vmware/config for Linux hosts.
