Tony Blair has said it is “time to distinguish” between the vaccinated and unvaccinated in order to allow international travel and freedom from restrictions.
The former prime minister was reacting to a report published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change which champions the idea of health passes “to allow citizens to prove their status in a secure, privacy-preserving way”.
Proposing the health pass system be used both at home and abroad, the report said: “With this ability to securely prove vaccination status, we can move beyond blunt, catch-all tools and align with other countries by removing certain restrictions for the fully vaccinated, thereby enabling us to sustainably reopen the economy.”
Asked on the Andrew Marr show if the plan would create a “discriminatory” two-tier society, Mr Blair said risk management was “all about discrimination”.
“The reason we vaccinate elderly people first is because they are more at risk, the reason we ensure people are vaccinated is because it then reduces the risk of transmission,” he said.
“I think since everybody is going to be able to get the vaccination, other than those who for medical reasons can’t, I think it really is important that people are encouraged to get vaccinated.”
– Government ‘absolutely open’ to delaying June 21 unlocking if Indian variant worsens, says Hancock
Ministers are “absolutely open” to delaying the June 21 unlocking in England, the Health Secretary has said.
Matt Hancock said the Government is prepared to take that step if the Indian variant worsens the country’s coronavirus recovery prospects.
“We are absolutely open to doing that if that’s what needs to happen,” he the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
In what will be viewed as the clearest indication yet that the target date could slip, Mr Hancock stressed that June 21 was a “not before” date and that it was only “pencilled in” as the next step out of lockdown.
He also implied that social distancing could continue beyond the final stage of the Prime Minister’s road map.
