Vaccine passport plans for England scrapped by government

Vaccine passport plans for England have been scrapped by the government.

Just one week after the UK government announced that it would be pressing on with plans to introduce vaccination passports for entry to clubs and other large-scale events, UK health secretary Sajid David has confirmed that the passport scheme would no longer be introduced.

Speaking with the BBC on Sunday (12th), David said that he was “pleased” to announce that the goverment would not be moving forward with the passport plans, and that he personally had “never liked the idea” of asking for “papers”. He added that vaccination passports would be kept in “reserve” as a “potential option”. 

Plans to introduce vaccine passports as a requirement for entry to clubs in England were originally announced in July, with the UK Government saying that the requirement would come in place once everybody who was 18 and over had been given a chance to have both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

The news has been welcomed by various industry bodies, including the Nighttime Industries Association (NTIA), who previously said that vaccine passports for UK clubs would be an “unworkable option”.

Last week, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that vaccine passports will be required for entry to nightclubs and many large events from later this month.

Elsewhere, New York clubs have required at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine for entry since 16th August 2021, with rules set to be enforced as of today (13th September).