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No coronavirus vaccine, no service?
Britons could soon be denied entry to restaurants, bars, cinemas and sporting events if they refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a senior official said on Monday.
Nadhim Zahawi, the minister responsible for vaccine deployment in the UK, said information on whether people had received a coronavirus vaccine could become available on the phone app already in use for tracing contacts.
“But I also think that you will probably find that restaurants, bars and cinemas and other places, sports venues, will probably also use this system like they did with the app,” Zahawi told the BBC.
“The kind of pressure will come both ways: from service providers – who will say, ‘Look, show us you’ve been vaccinated’ – but we’ll also make the technology as easy and accessible as possible.”
When asked if it would become nearly impossible to do anything without the vaccine, Zahawi said he believes most companies would want to adopt protocols that take into account a person’s vaccination status.
“I think people have to make a decision, but I think you’ll probably find that a lot of service providers will want to engage in this area like they did with the app,” Zahawi said.
The UK launched a contact tracing app in September with the aim of stopping the spread of the deadly bug.
Zahawi declined to offer any predictions on when a vaccine would hit the UK market, although experts said it should be available before Christmas, subject to regulatory approval.
The UK government has already placed orders for some of the top candidates – including 100 million doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 5 million doses of Moderna’s, the BBC reported.
Pfizer’s inoculation is under review by regulatory authorities, while Moderna announced Monday that it will seek US and European emergency clearance.
With pole wires
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