England has rejected plans to make COVID-19 vaccine passports mandatory for nightclubs and other crowded spaces, a senior health official said on Sunday.
Health Minister Sajid Javid confirmed that the country will not go ahead with its plans to start requiring vaccination tests later this month at the sites.
“What I can say is that we have looked at it correctly and while we should keep it in reserve as a potential option, I am pleased to say that we will not go ahead with plans for vaccine passports,” Javid told Andrew Marr BBC show.
According to the proposed rules, people should have demonstrated vaccination tests, a negative test of COVID-19 or that they had recently isolated themselves after a positive test in order to enter clubs or other crowded places.
Javid said he “never liked the idea,” but that it was “right to look at it properly, look at the evidence.”
“We shouldn’t do things for good or because others do, and we should look at all possible interventions correctly,” Javid told the show.
Asked whether the decision was made in response to criticism from some sites, Javid insisted that was not the case.
He said vaccine passports were no longer needed due to other mitigation efforts, including high vaccination rates, testing, surveillance and new treatments, the BBC reported.
New York City deployed its own vaccine passport system last month, in which employers must prove they have been punched for entering certain indoor businesses, including all indoor restaurants, places leisure and gyms.