Nobu Portman Square Restaurant
(Picture: Jack Hardy)A crucial tool not currently being exercised is more strident messaging on vaccine passports, being introduced in mid-September. A policy this newspaper has consistently called for since last autumn.
Once everyone over 18 has had the opportunity to be double vaccinated, it is right that those who have chosen the protection of two doses should receive the benefit of greater freedoms.
A far larger focus on this would confer two key advantages. First, it would provide an urgently needed incentive for those still wavering on vaccination.
In France, three million vaccine appointments were booked within days following Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that citizens would have to show evidence of vaccination or a negative test to enter restaurants.
Second, as Tony Blair rightly argues, it would support the smooth transition to something more akin to normality with a more consistent approach to risk.
At present, we exist with an odd set of rules where double vaccinated people may be forced to self-isolate for 10 days, yet an unvaccinated person (who may also have deleted the app) can go to a nightclub.
As we come to live with the virus, vaccine passports have a role to play. The Government should not be shy about shouting for their use.
