Nadhim Zahawi, the minister in charge of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, hinted that many venues would only accept customers who have a certificate of vaccination. The suggestion brings into question whether immunity passes will be issued to those who decide to take the jab.
“I think that in many ways the pressure will come from both ways, from service providers who’ll say ‘look, demonstrate to us that you have been vaccinated’.
“But, also, we will make the technology as easy and accessible as possible.”
The so-called “immunity passports” have been touted as a potential way of returning to normality with millions of UK citizens enjoying more freedoms.
Baroness Dido Harding, head of the NHS Test and Trace programme, said her department is considering including vaccination status in the app.
She said it was her hope “in the future to be able to have a single record as a citizen of your test results and whether you’ve been vaccinated,” according to the Times.
Mr Zahawi was asked whether not having proof of vaccination would limit consumers’ options when it came to choosing venues.
He said: “I think people have to make a decision.
“But, I think you’ll probably find many service providers will want to engage with this in the way they did with the app.”
The minister told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that he supported the decision to make vaccination voluntary in the UK.
He said: “I think it is right that it is voluntary. People have to be allowed to decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or otherwise.
“But, I think the very strong message that you will see, this is the way we return the whole country, and so it’s good for your family, it’s good for your community, it’s good for your country to be vaccinated.
“And, ultimately people will have to make a decision.”
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, told a Downing Street press conference that the Government did not intend to “mandate” but rather “encourage” vaccination.
He said: “For a long time now we’ve been looking at the questions that minister Zahawi was talking about and the question of what’s the impact on the individual in terms of what they can do.
He added: “Firstly, we do not plan to mandate the vaccine.
“We think that by encouraging the uptake of the vaccine, we will get a very high proportion of people in this country to take up the vaccine, because of course it protects you but it also helps to protect your loved ones and your community.”
