Covid passports go against the purpose of the vaccine itself – to secure our freedoms
Asking a free citizen to produce a vaccine passport to order a pint of beer in a pub negates the very idea of a free citizen. There is no justification for it.
Cartoon by Crid.
Vaccine Passports already exist – try getting into Ghana without a Yellow Fever certificate. Many states, such as Singapore, have plans to require international travellers to produce a certificate of Covid vaccination on entry and this will become standard practice in future years.
However, there is a huge difference between demanding certification at a national border and suggestions of what the Prime Minister euphemistically calls 'Covid status certification’ in our daily lives.
Asking a free citizen to produce a vaccine passport to order a pint of beer in a pub negates the very idea of a free citizen. There is no justification for it.
It also goes against the purpose of the vaccine itself – which, after all, was intended to secure our freedoms.
The question of demanding vaccinations at workplaces such as care homes or the NHS is an altogether more difficult question. There is no doubt that thousands of people have lost their lives in hospitals and care homes due to transmission from members of staff. The requirement that doctors, carers and nurses be vaccinated seems reasonable but will run into insurmountable legal and political obsticles.
First, imposing a ‘no jab, no job’ condition on existing staff might breach employment law and is likely to end up in the courts.
Secondly, such a requirement will fall disproportionately on ethnic minorities, which explains the Labour Party’s objection to them.
It turns out that Labour’s only interjection on behalf of freedom during the pandemic is based in cynical concern for votes.
