According to The Telegraph this morning, the UK government is set to scrap plans to introduce vaccine passports for domestic use. Ministers have been looking at whether the law could be changed to make passports a condition of entry at football matches, concerts, festivals and business conferences.
However, The Telegraph is reporting today, that it’s not going to happen:
Plans to make Covid-19 passports a legal requirement for large events are set to be dropped, The Telegraph understands.
Officials working on the review into Covid-19 status certification believe there is no chance the law will be changed to mandate their use within the UK.
“It’s not a case of ‘it’s finely balanced’. It’s not going to happen,” said one well-placed government source close to the review. “Everyone says it’s dead.”
Showing proof of a jab has become accepted for international travel, given that some countries demand evidence for entry, and UK travellers are already able to do so via the NHS app.
However, their use within the UK is much more controversial, with critics warning that making people show proof of their medical status for social events raises serious ethical questions.
UK prime Minister Boris Johnson is on the record as saying that a vaccine passport would never be required to enter a supermarket or see a doctor. He’s also been fairly cool on the idea of needing one to go to the pub or book a table at a restaurant.
Is it really dead in the water? Something’s up here. It doesn’t make any sense. Nothing matters more to this government than vaccinating everyone in the country. The passport has been their ace card.
Now I’m thinking it may have been a bluff designed to boost uptake. As of this morning, 64, 592,000 doses have been administered. Nearly 40 million citizens have had one dose and more than 25 million people have had two. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
Is it a case of job done? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
