Scottish Labour leader has backed vaccine passports for international travel as a way of rebuilding the economy.
Anas Sarwar said the plan could apply to holidaymakers and to people wanting to do business with Scotland.
Governments across the UK are planning to lift covid restrictions over the next few months and are considering the long term impact of the virus on society.
One idea being discussed is a vaccine passport system which could allow people to access pubs, restaurants and flights.
Boris Johnson has said it may not be feasible to implement coronavirus health certificates until everyone has been offered a vaccine.
However, he said the Government will say more on their possible use in early April.
Sarwar, speaking at his first Holyrood election briefing, backed the principle of a passport system, but not for hospitality:
“On the point about vaccine passports, I think we do need some kind of certification in terms of ‘having had the vaccine’.”
He added: “I think where it is going to be more important is when we eventually open the country back up again, when we start to have a lot more international travel again, not just in terms of holidaymaking travel, but actually opening up the economy again.”
He also said it was a “really important” part of rebuilding the economy.
The Prime Minister said that “I do think there is going to be a role for certification”, though it is possible this will be limited to foreign travel.
“There are three basic components. There’s the vaccine, there’s your immunity you might have had after you’ve had Covid and there’s testing – they are three things that could work together,” Johnson told broadcasters.
But the Prime Minister acknowledged there are “moral complexities” and “ethical problems” that must be addressed, raising concerns that pregnant women and those with medical reasons cannot be vaccinated.
“You might only be able to implement a thoroughgoing vaccination passport scheme, even if you wanted such a thing, in the context of when absolutely everybody had been offered a vaccine,” Mr Johnson added.
