Vaccine certification as a means of unblocking British society would not be discriminatory, the UK vaccine minister insisted on Tuesday, as the proposal continues to attract controversy in the UK.
The minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said that such a requirement raises “a number of ethical issues”, but “it would be negligence on our part as a government” if we do not look at all the options for reopening the economy and “resuming our lives”.
No decision has yet been made, he said at the BBC Breakfast, but “ultimately, whatever we decide must be feasible, it must be non-discriminatory. You cannot have a two-tier or multi-tier type of system. “
Zahawi’s comments – echoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s words a day earlier – are the last indication that a government that previously ruled out the possibility of “vaccine passports” is slipping towards presenting them.
Zahawi himself previously rejected the idea of presenting a vaccine passport: “Um, we don’t know the impact of vaccines on transmission. Second, it would be discriminatory, ”he told Sky News in February.
But the scheme will now be tested in the coming weeks for large-scale events, cinemas and theaters.
Asked on the BBC Breakfast how this will be possible without being discriminatory, Zahawi said: “There will not be a situation where a government will allow this to happen, but it is only right that we look at all the technologies.
He continued: “Everyone can get tested, there is no discrimination, anyone can get tested, not everyone can get the vaccine […] that’s why we have to look at all the technologies, make sure they work together to get us to the place where we need to be. “
The issue was met with support and reaction from across the political spectrum, with several figures from Johnson’s own conservative party against the idea of vaccine passports.
The government published an update to its review on easing blocking restrictions on Monday, which said: “Even without government intervention, Covid status certification is likely to become a feature of our lives until the threat of the pandemic decreases. .
Separately, Zahawi stated that the Modern vaccine is in the process of being launched in the UK “around the third week of April”.