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Amid backlash, U.K. government scraps plans for vaccine passports in England

September 12, 2021 | | Print Article

In reversing course, the U.K. government has ruled out COVID-19-related vaccine passports as a requirement for entry to nightclubs and crowded events in sports stadiums and elsewhere — at least for now.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary in Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration, made this announcement on BBC television this morning.

“There’s a lot of defenses…that we need to keep in place because this virus hasn’t gone anywhere,” Javid explained on The Andrew Marr Show. “There is still a pandemic, so of course we have to remain cautious….

“Most people probably instinctively don’t like the idea…I’ve never liked the idea of saying to people ‘you must show your papers’ or something to do what is just an everyday activity…we’ve looked at it properly, and while we should keep it in reserve as a potential option, I’m pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports,” Javid declared.

Watch:

The decision apparently is the result of wider vaccine acceptance, i.e., vaccine “uptake,” in Britain, although infections are reportedly on the rise.

“The UK has given two vaccine doses to more than 80 per cent of over-16s and is expected to announce shortly whether it will extend vaccination to those aged 12 to 15,” News.com.au noted.

The vaccine minister and other appointees in Johnson’s “conservative” government previously pushed for the implementation of vaccine passports, which apparently could have also extended to pubs and restaurants.

The general idea prompted a backlash, including from backbenchers, i.e., those Tory members of parliament who are not in Johnson’s inner circle.

The far-left First Minister of semi-autonomous Scotland is moving ahead with such passports, however, because of a spike in infections there.

On the same broadcast, Javid said that he is not anticipating any further lockdowns in his country, and that he hopes to end mandatory PCR testing for travelers returning to the U.K. from certain countries as soon as possible.

“Mr. Johnson has also announced plans to scrap some of the Government’s Covid powers, amid concerns about No 10 retaining some in case they are needed in the winter months. Among the powers due to go are those allowing the government to close parts of the economy, to impose restrictions on events and gatherings and to shut schools temporarily,” LBC reported. Anyone who tests positive is still required to quarantine.

The Johnson administration reportedly will urge those who are considered at risk to get a third jab of the vaccine.

Prior to Javid’s announcement, former Conservative Party leader and soccer fan Sir Iain Duncan expressed skepticism during a Talk Radio interview and lamented what he insisted was coronavirus-related irrational fears.

“COVID deaths are about fourth or fifth on the list of deaths from people in the U.K…we don’t publish those death rates…and that’s because we are completely focused on COVID, and we can’t remain like that because affects our decision-making; it affects our rationality…,” Smith told host Julia Hartley-Brewer.

With regard to vaccine passports which he opposes, Smith added that “we no longer appear to be rational in this process…there is risk for everything we do in life…I think it leads to all sorts of complications. For example: Is it going to be a criminal offence not to have a vaccine passport if you haven’t had two jabs?

“What do you do at the door of the nightclub, or restaurant, or in my case, as a season ticker-holder of Tottenham? What do I do when I go there…and I’m told I can’t come in because it’s not a criminal offence, but I haven’t got a passport…I really, really beg my government just to take a pace back and think very carefully what we lose as much as what they think we might gain.”

New York City under lame duck, far-left Mayor de Blasi requires proof of COVID vaccination to enter certain indoor businesses as of August 16, the first U.S. major municipality to do so. Influential podcaster Joe Rogan has described vaccine passports as moving America one step closer to dictatorship.

In recent weeks, thousands of protesters across Europe have marched against mandatory vaccinations, lockdowns, and health passes.

 

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