After recently stating that they’re not considering making vaccinations mandatory, the government of the United Kingdom is now saying that they’re going to make the lives of people who are not vaccinated much more difficult.
The UK Government is working on ‘vaccine passports’ which could allow British tourists to head off on summer holidays abroad in a matter of months, it was claimed today.
The Department for Transport, the Foreign Office and the Department of Health are all said to be developing options for some kind of vaccine certificate.
The work is taking place now so the UK will be ready should other countries demand proof of vaccination as a condition of granting quarantine-free entry.
It came amid speculation that Greece is preparing to waive quarantine rules for Brits who can prove that they have had the jab.
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Plans for a certification system for tourists to prove they are protected against Covid-19 are reportedly underway.
Several European countries including Greece, Spain, Malta and Denmark have already signalled support for such a plan.
Health officials had previously dismissed vaccination passports given the lack of evidence that coronavirus vaccines prevented transmission, as well as reduce serious illness.
But enthusiasm for the vaccine document has reignited after recent studies have shown that Covid-19 jabs do cut transmission.
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Tony Blair, an advisor to the government on Covid-19, last week called for the roll-out of vaccine passports.
His organisation said the documents are the ‘only way to navigate allowing people to travel internationally again.’
They appear to be moving towards a scenario where vaccination isn’t directly mandated by the government but where people who are not vaccinated have a hard time living a normal life.
Right now, it is about international travel. Later, it may be about people moving between cities, then about people leaving their neighborhoods.
Eventually, it could be about people living in their megacity block.
On a long enough timeline, people may need a vaccine passport in order to leave their pods.
At the very least, they can do to vaccinations what they did to wearing masks. After all, wearing a mask has the same stated goal as being vaccinated.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some stores start asking for vaccination proof in the next few months. It’s all moving pretty fast.