Proof of full vaccination will be required as a condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues from the autumn, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said.
Speaking to the House of Commons on Monday – on the day England’s nightclubs were allowed to open for the first time since March 2020 – Zahawi said a negative Covid -19 test would soon “no longer be sufficient” proof that a person was Covid-safe.
He urged businesses to “use the NHS Covid pass in the weeks ahead”, adding: “We will be keeping a close watch on how it is used by venues and reserve the right to mandate if necessary.”
He continued: “By the end of September everyone aged 18 and over will have the chance to receive full vaccination and the additional two weeks for that protection to really take hold.
“So at that point we plan to make full vaccination a condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.
“Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient.”
Boris Johnson warned that “some of life’s most important pleasures and opportunities are likely to be increasingly dependent on vaccination” as he reiterated the plans in the Downing Street press conference.
He added: “I don’t want to have to close nightclubs again as they have elsewhere, but it does mean nightclubs need to do the socially responsible thing and make use of the NHS Covid pass.
“I should serve notice now that by the end of September, when all over-18s will have had their chance to be double jabbed, we are planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.”
Zahawi promised that the plans would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and that there would be “appropriate” exemptions for people with a medical condition that means they cannot be vaccinated.
“We will always look at the evidence available and do all we can to ensure people can continue to do the things they love,” he added.
Jeremy Hunt, Conservative chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee, questioned why the Government was waiting until the end of September to implement the plans.
“If we’re going to introduce Covid vaccine passports for nightclubs by the end of September, which I support, why are we waiting until then, giving more weight to the concerns of people who want to go to nightclubs, than the additional extra cases waiting two months is likely to cause at a time when that growth in new cases is of such a concern?” he asked in the Commons.
Zahawi replied: “By the end of September, 18-year-olds would have received their second dose and we will work with the industry to make sure we get this right now in terms of working with them with the Covid pass and of course in September while we collate the evidence.”
