Covid vaccine passports will not be needed to enter pubs in England, a Government minister has said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that only venues where people come in “close contact” with each other, such as nightclubs, would require proof of vaccination, adding that it was a “good idea” for people to get the jab before going back to their workplaces and some companies in the UK may demand staff have it.
Asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about concerns over vaccine passports being required for entry into certain places, Grant Shapps said: “I don’t know why this is particularly controversial, nine out of 10 people have had their first vaccinations and are going on to have their second, so most people have already had their vaccinations anyway – and I’m talking about adults who have had their vaccinations anyway.
“So, for most people this doesn’t matter one way or the other. It does protect not just your life but other people’s lives when you get vaccinated, so of course, as a society, we should be encouraging it.
“We won’t go as far as requiring it to enter a shop or the pub, we will for very close contact things like going to nightclubs, other countries are for international travel, so I think there is precious little reason not to be vaccinated, every good reason to be vaccinated. Why wouldn’t we want to save lives? It’s just obvious to me.”
Asked about people having both vaccine doses before they go back to the office, Shapps told Sky News: “It is a good idea and, yes, some companies will require it.
“We are not going to make that legislation that every adult has to be double-vaccinated before they go back to the office but, yes, it is a good idea and, yes, some companies will require it.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said while he can “see a case for vaccine passports”, he did not agree with a “jabs for jobs” approach.
He told broadcasters: “I can see a case for vaccine passports, alongside testing, when it comes to big sporting events or mass events, certainly for international travel.
“But for day-to-day routine – access to the office, access to health services or dentistry or even food – I don’t agree with vaccine passports for day-to-day access.”
