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Will I need a vaccine to go to the pub?
AS Britain's jab rollout continues, Brits are wondering how rumoured "vaccine passports" could affect freedoms such as travel and leisure.
s new Covid vaccine laws are due to be voted on today - March 25, 2021 - by MPs in the Commons. But what will it mean for the great British boozer?
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Will I need a vaccine to go to the pub?
Pubs may be allowed to ban drinkers who have not had a Covid vaccination.
Punters may have to show proof of a jab or a recent negative test to get a pint.
But there is no rule yet in place - and it is believed any vaccine requirement would be at the discretion of individual landlords.
What has Boris Johnson said?
Mr Johnson had previously dismissed on the idea of a vaccine passport being needed to nip into a boozer.
He said: "Inevitably there will be great interest in ideas like can you show that you’ve had a vaccination against Covid, in the way sometimes you have to show you’ve had a vaccination against Yellow Fever or other diseases, in order to travel somewhere.
"I think that going to be very much in the mix down the road, I think that is going to happen.
"What I don’t think we’ll have in this country is, as it were, vaccination passports to allow you to go to say the pub or something like that.
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"I think that would be going it a bit. In the context of having vaccinated a lot of the population, the rapid test approach will start I think to come into its own."
But speaking to a committee of MPs this week he indicated the decision will be handed to individual businesses.
He said: “I think that’s the kind of thing that may be up to individual publicans. It may be up to the landlord.”
The Covid Research Group of 50 backbench Conservatives last night warned: “We must not fall into this ghastly trap.”
The group's leader, Steve Baker, said the PM was treading a dangerous path when he opened the door to Covid certificates.
He added: “First they said we’ll need them to watch the football, and today that it may be papers for the pub.”
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How would it work?
It is not clear how vaccine passports allowing entry into pubs would actually work in reality.
However, it is likely that you would have to show a vaccine card - or some other proof - stating you have had the jab.
According to the , a government review of vaccine certification could report in May to coincide with the wider reopening of hospitality in England.
A senior government source said the review is looking at how people's vaccination and testing status could be stored securely and displayed on a mobile phone.
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