The requirement for vaccine passports at major events will be in place by the end of September.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has confirmed that vaccine passports will be required for nightclubs, mass events and large venues in England by the end of this month, saying that they are needed in order for business to stay open over the coming months.
Zahawi said the government wanted to “make sure the whole economy remains open” through the autumn and winter, as concerns grow over a potential surge in infections in the winter months.
The minister told Sky News: “We are looking at, by the end of September when everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, for the large venues, venues that could end up causing a real spike in infections, where we need to use the certification process.
“If you look at what the FA have done, they’ve done so brilliantly in terms of checking vaccine status to reopen football. That is the sort of right thing to do and we are absolutely on track to continue to make sure that we do that.”
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi confirms government still considering vaccine passports for large venues
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Vaccine passports can be easily accessed and shown on the NHS app.
But ever since the idea of vaccine passports was first floated, it has received fierce opposition from a number of Tory MPs. Zahawi said that the Prime Minister was committed to the plan though.
“The reason being is that, I, as does the prime minister, want to make sure the whole economy remains open,” he said. “The worst thing we can do for those venues is to have a sort of open-shut-open-shut strategy because we see infection rates rise because of the close interaction of people, that’s how the virus spreads, if people are in close spaces in large numbers we see spikes appearing.
“The best thing to do then is to work with the industry to make sure that they can open safely and sustainably in the long term, and the best way to do that is to check vaccine status.”
The latest government data shows that 79.6% of the UK adult population has received a second dose of the vaccine.
Related links:
Vaccine passports to remain ‘permanent fixture’ of foreign holidays
Eric Clapton refuses to play venues that require vaccine passport
Plans for Covid vaccine passports in pubs proposed to stop fourth wave
