I am opposed to vaccine passports just as I am opposed to mandatory vaccines. I can see how vaccine passports can be a backdoor route to forcing people to take the vaccine.
At the same time, I want to see the maximum possible uptake of the vaccine. Medical data shows that Covid vaccines reduce infection and transmission rates, improve infection outcomes, and reduce the risk of hospitalisation and deaths.
In April this year I signed a pledge that opposed the use of vaccine passports to determine who can go to certain events, or even who can enter pubs, which the Government clearly wanted to use as a justification for relaxing Covid restrictions. I am still opposed to their use and voted against their use in Parliament.
The management of the Covid crisis has been a debacle from the start – this is not the end of the virus and it is not going to obey the Prime Minister’s decisions. Everything should be done to encourage uptake of the vaccination including making the vaccine available to the Global South by waiving intellectual property rights.
I will continue do all I can to advocate in parliament, and beyond, for a fairer and more effective approach to the pandemic.
