Vaccine Passports: Reasonable or Not?

When a politician says that they, or their party, or the government they are part of, have no plans to do something, the one thing you can rely on is that you cannot rely on what they say.

In September 2020, when asked about certification to prove that people had been vaccinated against COVID-19, Michael Gove said, "I certainly am not planning to introduce any vaccine passports, and I don't know anyone else in government who is." More recently – in February 2021 – Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that vaccine passports would be discriminatory, and that “we are not planning to have a passport in the UK.”

Opposed to them in September 2020, Michael Gove now believes that
the government must take the lead in the introduction of vaccine passports.

It was scarcely a surprise then, that ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street briefing on Easter Monday (5^th April 2020), media speculation suggested that vaccine passports would indeed be introduced domestically. Even less of a surprise, therefore, that at that briefing, Johnson confirmed as much; a Covid-status certification system would be developed over the coming months, he said.

And the next day (6^th April), Nadim Zahawi’s opposition to a passport had evaporated to the extent that he said that, “exploring the idea of some form of COVID certification is the responsible thing to do as a government”.

As U-turns go, you could see this one coming from the moment that Michael Gove made his remarks on Sky News last year, and if not then, ever since the vaccination programme began. It has been a slow-burning idea whose time would eventually and inevitably come. And naturally, it does not come without controversy.

It is possible to argue that a vaccine passport or certificate is both necessary and reasonable, prudent and practical. It is equally possible to argue that such a thing is an abomination, and a gross infringement of our rights and civil liberties, another step towards the country becoming a police state. Equally, one could argue – with a foot in both camps – that the temporary introduction of such a passport is a proportionate response to the challenges of easing lockdown, albeit one that ought not to last any longer than is necessary and reasonable, that is to say, not indefinitely.

Your vaccine passport may look something like this.

Where do the great British public stand on the idea of vaccine passports? So far as I can tell from social media (not the most accurate barometer of public opinion, but as good a place to start as any), the only people expressing an opinion are those who are opposed to the idea.

It seems that many fear a dystopian future in which there will be random spot checks on members of the public’s vaccination status.

On the other hand, an opinion poll by Ipsos MORI of 8,300 people aged 16 and over, found the following percentages in favour of vaccine passports for certain activities:

·        78% - Foreign travel, visiting someone in a care home.

·        74% - Visiting someone in hospital.

·        68% - To go to a theatre or indoor concert.

·        63% - To visit a gym or leisure centre.

·        61% - To attend open-air concerts or sporting events.

·        58% - To use public transport.

One thing that leaps out about the likely uses of a domestic vaccine passport is the inconsistency of approach.

If this came to pass, I could travel from home to the other end of the country by train and bus, stopping for refreshment in pubs and restaurants, stay overnight in a hotel (all indoors), all without having to show a Covid passport, but upon entering a sports stadium (outdoors), I would need to.

Like so much of the response to coronavirus, the message is contradictory. When Matt Hancock appeared on ITV’s This Morning last week, he said that people “should minimise travel, but if you want to travel to see friends and family then that is absolutely fine - no matter where they are in England.” In other words, don’t travel, but travel as far as you like.

Even before Boris Johnson’s announcement on vaccine passports, individual venues were stating on social media that they would not require customers to produce such a document or display an app on their phones, and the UK Cinema Association reiterated their opposition to asking customers to prove their covid free status. Government plans to introduce a vaccine passport will not run smooth, it seems.

In much the way as we have become used to decanting our liquids into 100ml bottles, and removing our shoes and belts as we pass through airport security, the vaccination passport is as much about the Government being seen to do something as it is about actually achieving anything practical. It is possible that the Government might lose a vote on introducing a passport (if there is one, I’ve seen conflicting reports on whether one is necessary), or the court of public opinion may result in another volte-face, but opponents of the scheme will see it, along with any continuation of mask wearing, social distancing, and regular testing, as an aspect of increasing and continuing control of the people by the Government.

The control we are asked to believe that the Government is exerting in ever increasing ways intrigues me. Control usually has a purpose, it is normally a means to an end rather than an end in itself, but I have yet to hear of a coherent explanation of what this hypothetical control is supposed to achieve beyond control itself. Besides, the chaotic response to coronavirus the world over (with notable exceptions like Singapore and New Zealand, among a very small number of countries) suggests that national governments globally are not competent enough, nor their people pliant enough, for such control to be effective.

If a government really wanted to bring in controls on its people to the extent that the conspiracy theorists believe, why dress it up as a response to a pandemic, even one the conspiracists believe is manufactured for the purpose? Why not just do it?

I foresee a scandal brewing over the procurement of an app for a vaccine passport, though. More money will be spaffed on some Tory’s mate’s IT company for the privilege, although given that billions have been lobbed in Serco’s direction for the Track and Trace app, and there is – and was, even before covid – a perfectly usable NHS app, there’s no real reason why a passport couldn’t be bolted on to one of those with minimal development costs, and no need for new public money to pay for it.

On balance, I suppose that I am ambivalent about vaccine passports. If a smartphone app, or a physical certificate, is required to get me into events I want to attend, then I will have one; my desire to see a band or a sporting event will probably outweigh any concerns about the Government’s supposed desire to oppress me: I feel more oppressed by not being able to go to a gig or a football match than having to have an app to prove I’m healthy enough to do so.