UK Considering COVID-19 Vaccine 'Passports' For Domestic, International Travel

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the government was considering introducing digital certificates for COVID-19 vaccination to to ensure smooth travel within the country and abroad, a week after the Vaccine Minister ruled out such documents as "discriminatory."

"Whether it's at an international, domestic or local level, you've got to know that the document being presented is something that you can rely on and that it's an accurate reflection of the status of the individual,” Raab told LBC Radio on Sunday.

When asked if the document will be required domestically to enter supermarkets or stores, he said, “It's something that hasn't been ruled out and it's under consideration, but of course you've got to make it workable.”

The U.K. announced Sunday that more than 15 million people have received their first shot since December. More than 537,000 of them have also received their second dose. This includes most people in the government’s top four priority groups.

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi last week said the country will not issue "vaccine passports." He added that vaccine passports would be "discriminatory" and people can instead ask their doctors if they need written confirmation of vaccination to travel.

Former prime minister Tony Blair said vaccine passports will become “inevitable”. “That’s because, as international travel restarts, the global public will demand a system that gives them confidence to get back to life as we once knew it,” he told BBC’s Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

Some countries, like Sweden and Denmark, have already announced plans to launch a digital coronavirus vaccine passport. Sweden said it will start issuing the document by summer, and it can be used for travel and also for other purposes, like when attending events. Denmark, meanwhile, said a "digital corona passport" will be ready for use in three to four months.