The British government will not implement the “vaccination passport” because it considers it “discriminatory”

The British government announced on Sunday that it will not use passports for people vaccinated against the coronavirus, because he considers it a “discriminatory” measure. In recent weeks, several countries and airlines around the world have been analyzing the initiative and even the World Health Organization (WHO) I affirm that the subject “is on the agenda”.

UK Minister for Vaccine Implementation Nadhim zahawi communicated the decision and clarified that, however, people can ask their doctor proof of vaccination if they need it to travel to other countries. He rejected the idea of ​​introducing such documents because “the impact of vaccines on the transmission” of the disease is still unknown and because, in addition, “it would be discriminatory”, according to the channel. CNN.

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So far, more than 12 million people in the UK have received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, including more than 511,000 were also inoculated with the second, according to official data. The Department of Health, on the other hand, reported 15,845 new cases and 373 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 3,945,680 and the number of deaths to 112,465. .

The debate over these passports took hold in Europe and other parts of the world weeks ago. Some tourist destinations such as Seychelles, Cyprus and Romania have already removed quarantine requirements for visitors who can prove they are vaccinated. Others, like Iceland and Hungary, have only opened up to people who have recovered from coronavirus. In Denmark, the announcement of a passport on Sunday prompted the first protests by libertarians and far-right groups.

“If other countries require some kind of test, you can ask your GP. Of course, this can be used as proof that you received the vaccine, but we do not plan to have a UK passport “, Zahawi insisted. The minister acknowledged that several startups (young technology companies) working on applications related to the subject had received funding from public research and innovation agencies in the United Kingdom and from Innovate UK, but that the government “did not certainly not sought to introduce it as part of the vaccine implementation program ”.

What is the vaccination passport?

A vaccination passport is documents proving that a person has been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Depending on the design, some would also be used to verify the existence of a negative test result or the existence of antibodies after the onset of the disease. The versions currently under development in different parts of the world are digital.

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What is the purpose of these documents? As vaccination plans progress, it is likely that there will be activities that only people who have been vaccinated will be able to do, such as taking a flight or going to a concert, for example. Having a digital certificate would serve as a practical test.