Vaccine passports will be introduced for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues by the end of this month, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has confirmed.
Mr Zahawi said the government will press ahead with the “no jab no entry” policy announced by Boris Johnson in July, despite stiff opposition from the nightlife industry, which fears it may make businesses financially unviable.
No details have yet emerged of what other venues may fall under the passport requirement, with sports matches, music concerts and conferences also thought to be under consideration.
It follows speculation that the plans might have been dropped after a backlash from Conservative backbench MPs and industry leaders.
Mr Johnson announced in July that full two-dose vaccination against Covid-19 would be made a condition of entry for “nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather” from the end of September with proof of a negative test not sufficient.
Ministers initially refused to rule out the imposition of passports even for pubs, sparking speculation that the announcement was designed to motivate younger Britons to get the jab which might never actually be put into action.
But Mr Zahawi today told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday that it remains the intention to go ahead with the passes, with clubbers able to prove their vaccine status by showing their jab records on the NHS smartphone app.
He said that passports will come into effect “by the end of September, when everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, for the large venues that could end up causing a real spike in infections”.
Mr Zahawi hailed the use of vaccine checks at football grounds: “If you look at what the FA has done – and done so brilliantly – in terms of checking vaccine status to reopen football, that is the right thing to do.
“We are absolutely on track to continue to make sure that happens. The reason being that I, as does the Prime Minister, want to make sure the whole economy remains open.
“The worst thing we can do for those venues is to have a sort of open/shut, open/shut strategy because we see infection rates rise because of the close interaction of people.
“That is how the virus spreads – if people are in enclosed spaces in large numbers, we see spikes occurring.
“The best thing to do is to work with the industry to make sure they can open safely and sustainably in the long term and the best way to do that is to check the vaccine status.”
The Night Time Industries Association has warned that nightlife businesses will lose more than one-third of their trade overnight if Covid passes are made mandatory, while staff shortages will intensify as many employees have indicated they will quit the sector rather than accept compulsory vaccination.
In a message to Boris Johnson, the NTIA’s CEO Michael Kill said: “Our industry has been exceptional at managing businesses and public health within these settings during this pandemic.
“We cannot be subject to mitigations which are ill thought-out and are clearly not supported both publicly, politically and industry-wide.
“Contrary to popular belief, much of our core market and workforce will not accept being coerced into taking the vaccine. The workforce is shrinking and illegal events are being organized today in light of the impending restrictions. How can this be anything but counterproductive?”
