I’m not convinced of the need for vaccine passports within the UK

Should proof that you have had a jab be the price of admission to restaurants, pubs or offices? John Rentoul says no

Boris Johnson is right to say that we do not need vaccine passports (PA)

What is the point of vaccine passports in the UK? Their advocates say they would allow society to open up more quickly, as restaurants, pubs and cinemas would be able to admit people who could prove that they have been vaccinated. I am as keen as anyone to open up to the joys of social life, but I don’t see how passports help.

In Israel, where 80 per cent of the population has had at least one dose, the plan is to open theatres to vaccinated people only. But why? The evidence is that the vaccines are effective in preventing serious illness and death. That is what matters: once that protection has been achieved, suppressing the spread becomes less important (but still important), especially as it will happen anyway. Israel is about two weeks from getting a first dose of the vaccine to as close to 100 per cent of its population as is possible, which means that, we hope, the virus will continue to retreat.

The vaccines don’t provide absolute protection, so passports won’t provide the certainty people seek. We don’t know to what extent people who have been vaccinated can still be infected with coronavirus, nor to what extent they can then infect others. But we do know that vaccines have an effect on transmission, and probably a large effect. And what matters, above all, is the risk of dying.