The question has been raging on now for months as to whether there should be a UK vaccination passport or certificate and it is very clear that there is mixed feeling over this.
It now appears that if you wish to go to Wembley to see England’s Euro Group 2020 football matches, you will have to prove by means of your mobile phone and the NHS app that you have been vaccinated with both doses. This is a massive step. After the government has been poo-pooing the idea of a UK passport for months, here is one enterprise which is having none of it! Indeed the government have said that they will and do provide certification for people travelling abroad as “other countries will need it” but they stop short of saying it will be needed in the UK.
It is clearly up to private enterprise to make up its own rules and decide whether vaccination is required or not. That is absolutely fine as it will enable the general public to make up its own decision on the matter.
At the weekend former Prime Minister Tony Blair waded into the act as well. He said that he had no sympathy with those who felt discriminated against because they refused to have the vaccine. That is their choice and the purpose of the vaccine is not only to protect themselves from illness but others from catching the disease from you. He stopped short of saying that it should be compulsory but pointed out that “discrimination” has been accorded an incorrect meaning, one which implies wrongfulness. He said that it was important to discriminate against those who refuse to be vaccinated because those who are prepared to have the jab deserve to be protected.
Many organisations now have made it clear that you must be double vaccinated to use their services and they include airlines and cruise companies and it is a certainty that the list will grow and grow. Indeed it would be very surprising if eventually many hospitality venues do not also insist on double vaccination because it is clear that this will afford the greatest safety against transmission and infection. Sooner or later someone will come up with a sticker which businesses will be able to put on their doors and windows saying “only fully vaccinated individuals will be admitted” and “be prepared to prove you have been vaccinated”. If the government is able to come up with a system showing that people have immunity by vaccination or having had the disease, then that can be included too.
The government has admitted that private companies can do what they choose – indeed they have no power at the moment to stop them.
It will happen because the spread of the disease is too frightening to live with – with a 53% increase in new cases over the past seven days, we should all be running back for cover.
Adrian Leopard 08-06-21
Photo Jannus Jagomägi