Professor David Livermore has written a piece opposing vaccine passports for Lockdown Sceptics. According to his calculations, the number of 'vaccinated hazards' will shortly outnumber 'unvaccinated hazards' by 2:1.
by David Livermore Vaccine passports or certificates – an idea we thought dead – have, regrettably, just been sleeping. With no little sense of irony, the Government is busy resurrecting them in time for “Freedom Day”. To be clear, I won’t be too put out if an immigration officer demands a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination certificate in future, especially if I’m travelling to a low-Covid country, like Taiwan. I doubt it will protect them in the long term, but I’m happy to be vaccinated and it doesn’t upset me any more than having to obtain a yellow fever vaccine and certificate. The issue is with using vaccine passports internally, to restrict access to large events and maybe even pubs and restaurants. Certificates will be used to discriminate against the unvaccinated, not all of whom belong to the awkward squad. They include the young, not yet offered vaccination, as well as those who can’t be vaccinated. But, set aside the ethical. Others have written extensively. What concerns me is the practical. Certificates are touted on the basis that ‘They will make concert-goers feel safe.’ Really? Perhaps the concert-goers should while away one of Wagner’s tedious half hours counting the odds. Suppose a concert is attended by 1,000 people, 900 vaccinated and 100 unvaccinated, which is about the current split. Assume also that vaccines ...
All U.K. adults have been offered a first dose of a Covid vaccine a day ahead of schedule, but the success of the vaccine roll-out has not persuaded the Prime Minister to give back more freedoms on "Freedom Day".
Some schools are deciding to close early ahead of the summer break due to ongoing disruption caused by isolation rules. Many parents are taking their children out of the schools that are staying open to avoid quarantine.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak will no longer avoid self-isolation by taking part in a convenient pilot scheme after a backlash has forced them to decide to spend "Freedom Day" locked indoors.
The Question Everything Lockdown Summit took place in London yesterday and featured contributions from many of those who have featured prominently on this site over the past year, not least Toby and Dr Will Jones.
The Government is encouraging "bad behaviour" by urging people to continue wearing cloth face masks, which are simply "comfort blankets" and offer little protection against Covid, a scientific adviser to SAGE has said.
A summary of all the most interesting stories that have appeared about the virus in the past 24 hours – not just in Britain, but around the world.
