UK NOT CONSIDERING VACCINE PASSPORTS

Sun 07 February 2021:

Britain will not introduce COVID-19 vaccine passports, but people will be able to seek proof from their doctor if needed for travel to other countries, vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday.

“We are certainly not looking to introduce it as part of the vaccine deployment programme,” Zahawi told Sky News.

“One, we don’t know the impact of vaccines on transmission. Two, it would be discriminatory and I think the thing to do is to make sure that people come forward to be vaccinated because they want to rather than it being made in some way mandatory through a passport.”

Arrivals from all countries to the UK currently have to quarantine for up to 10 days, and many in the government expect these rules to have to remain in place for an extended period, to avoid a resurgence in the virus just as the vaccination programme takes effect.

Denmark and Sweden are already working on plans for some form of digital certification for vaccination, and discussions are under way about an EU-wide certification scheme.

The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, backed the idea in January of using certificates to identify people who have had the jab, but added: “Whether that gives a priority or access to certain goods, this is a political and legal decision that has to be discussed on the European level.”

Some travel companies have already made vaccines compulsory. Saga requires its cruise passengers to have had both doses of the vaccine at least 14 days before departure.