Yahoo Finance Evening Standard Comment: Covid vaccine passports could be ticket to freedom
For some, they confer a return to normality and an end to lockdowns. To others an ‘unBritish’ imposition. But vaccine passports may be coming to a theatre (or pub) near you.
Indeed, as we report today, a poll by the Evening Standard reveals that two-thirds of Londoners would carry such a passport if it meant they could attend concerts or sporting events again, with only one-fifth saying they would refuse them.
This newspaper has consistently supported the concept of vaccine certification. If implemented carefully, they can be a catalyst for a return pre-Covid life, and could reduce the need for social distancing.
This would not only be good for people but crucial for businesses such as bars and restaurants which are at present reliant on outdoor space and good weather.
Yet, we accept they do bring significant social, ethical and legal challenges. Vaccine certificates risk discriminating against certain groups where vaccine uptake is lower, such as the marginalised and those who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons. A two-tier society would carry with it a host of other social ills.
It is in addition to these concerns as well as those on civil liberty grounds that there must be proper Parliamentary scrutiny of any such legislation – something that has been sorely lacking during the pandemic.
Given the potentially wide-ranging implications of vaccine passports, the Government should strongly consider introducing a standalone bill, rather than relying on secondary legislation. This would boost both its legitimacy and Parliament’s ability to examine it.
The Government should also focus on pilot schemes, not only to trial how they will work but also how they can continue operate effectively in an eventuality where more variants of concern emerge.
Finally, ministers must clarify how currently excluded groups can be brought in. Covid passports can act as an incentive to encourage wider take-up, but the price cannot be the exiling of sometimes already marginalised groups from society. Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders remain the greatest threat to our civil liberties.
Indeed we have seen the right to protest challenged. If introduced sensibly and scrunitsed properly, vaccine passports could be our ticket to freedom.
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