Will Short Term Use Of Vaccine Passports Help Reopen Venues?

Will Short Term Use Of Vaccine Passports Help Reopen Venues? Vaccine passports are apparently being considered as a short term option in the government's efforts to reopen theatres and sports venues and make areas of cultural life viable.

Under the government's four-step plan to ease England's lockdown, all legal limits on social contact could be lifted by June 21st, provided strict conditions are met.

While most outside social gathering rules are due to be fully lifted on May 17th, social distancing rules and limits on capacity will remain indoors for at least a further five weeks for venues like cinemas, museums and theatres, and for sporting events.

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Whilst claiming that the roadmap for lifting restrictions in England was on track, the government are also looking at all options which will form part of a wider review that could possibly report in May. One option, suggested by the PM, is that pub goers could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate but this is in the long term when everyone has been offered the vaccine which is expected to be by the end of July.

Pilot schemes will be undertaken from the middle of April to look at things like ventilation, one-way systems and tests on how the virus spreads at indoor and outdoor events. These, together with the success of the vaccine rollout and the better weather in the summer months, would also be crucial factors in determining further decisions.

Mr Drakeford, Wales’ First Minister, is prepared to consider a fair and reliable system of a coronavirus certificate on a "four-nation basis" although this is not without its practical and ethical challenges.

Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, is convinced that vaccine passports need to be given serious consideration as part of a wider package of protective measures in order to make our activities safe and for such as reopening nightclubs and enabling mass gatherings he suggests passports may be in the form of vaccine passports, test-negative passports or even immunity passports.