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The government has no plans to issue “vaccine passports” to people who have suffered a coronavirus attack, Michael Gove said, just 24 hours after the newly appointed vaccine minister said they were looking into the technology.
Gove, the cabinet minister, said customers would not need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to go to pubs, restaurants, theaters or sporting events.
Asked Tuesday morning whether the government was considering introducing “vaccine passports”, he told Sky News: “No, it wasn’t planned.”
He added: “I certainly have no intention of introducing any vaccination passports and I don’t know anyone else in the government [who is]. “
It comes just a day after Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed on Saturday to be in charge of overseeing the launch of the jab, indicated that customers who refused inoculation could be refused entry to pubs.
He said that while the vaccine wouldn’t be mandatory, companies like pubs and restaurants could require proof that people have been vaccinated before allowing them to enter.
The confusion came as Boris Johnson scrambled to contain a Tory rebellion ahead of a vote on the nationwide lockdown system later Tuesday. The vote is expected to pass despite Labor refusing to vote with the government, even though ministers expect a substantial number of Conservative MPs to vote against the motion.
Asked Monday by the BBC whether those who have been inoculated will get an immune passport, Zahawi said: “We are looking into the technology. And, of course, a way that people can tell their GP that they have been vaccinated. But, also, I think you will probably find that restaurants, bars, cinemas and other places, sports facilities, will also use that system, as they did with the [test and trace] app. “
Matt Hancock, the secretary of health, said at a Downing Street press conference on Monday evening: “We have been examining the questions Mr. Zahawi was talking about for a long time and the question of what the impact on the individual is in terms of that. they can do. “
Experts have raised concerns about such a system in relation to privacy, data protection and human rights. It has also caused disquiet among already restless Conservative MPs. Marcus Fysh, Yeovil’s Conservative MP, She said it was “100% against this ignorant authoritarianism”.
However, Gove seemed to rule out any plans for such passports. “We don’t anticipate ourselves, that’s not the plan,” he also told BBC Breakfast. “What we want to do is make sure we can get vaccines effectively.”
He added: “Of course, individual companies have the ability to make decisions about who to admit and why. But the most important thing we should do at this stage is to focus on making sure the vaccine is launched. “
The prime minister will announce a new one-off discretionary funding paid to councils for “wet” pubs and bars that cannot be opened under the new stricter level restrictions for England, according to the Guardian.
Johnson and other government ministers phoned the rebel Tory MPs on Monday, noting that the government had met many of the Covid Recovery Group’s demands from skeptical lawmakers, including the reopening of retail and outdoor sports and the publication of the impact assessment. .
However, many remain concerned about the effect on hospitality in the run-up to Christmas, with nearly 99% of the country heading to Level 2 or 3 with severe curbs on the venues.
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