Certifying vaccines as a means of unblocking British society would not be discriminatory, the British vaccine minister insisted on Tuesday, as the proposal continues to draw controversy in the UK.
Minister Nadhim Zahawi said such a requirement raises “a number of ethical issues”, but “it would be a lack of us as a government” not to consider all options to reopen the economy and take our lives. back”
No decision has been made yet, he told BBC Breakfast, but “in the end everything we decide must be viable, it must be non-discriminatory. You can’t have some kind of two-tier or multi-tier system. ”
Zahawi’s comments – repeating the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson a day earlier – are the latest indication that a government that once ruled out the possibility of “vaccine passports” is slipping into their introduction.
Zahawi himself previously rejected the idea of introducing a vaccine passport: “One, we do not know the impact of vaccines on transmission. Secondly, it would be discriminatory, “he told Sky News in February.
But the scheme will now be piloted in the coming weeks for large-scale events, cinemas and theaters.
Asked at BBC Breakfast how this would be possible without being discriminatory, Zahawi said: “There will not be a situation where a government will allow this to happen, but it is right to look at all technologies.
He continued: “Everyone can get tested, there is no discrimination, anyone can get tested, not everyone can get a vaccine. […] that’s why we have to look at all the technologies, make sure they work together to get us where we need to be. ”
The subject was greeted with both support and backlash across the political spectrum, with several figures from Johnson’s own Conservative party against the idea of vaccine passports.
The government on Monday released an update to its review of blocking restrictions, saying: “Even without government intervention, certification of Covid status will likely become a feature of our lives until the threat of a pandemic recedes.”
Separately, Zahawi said the Moderna vaccine is about to be launched in the UK “around the third week of April”.