London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Covid-19: No plans for 'vaccine passport' - Michael Gove

Covid-19: No plans for 'vaccine passport' - Michael Gove

There are no plans to introduce a "vaccine passport" to give people access to places such as pubs and restaurants once a coronavirus jab becomes available, says Michael Gove.

The Cabinet Office minister told the BBC: "That's not the plan."

His comments come after the vaccine minister suggested businesses could bar those who have not had a jab.

The vaccine rollout in the UK is expected to begin before Christmas, subject to regulatory approval.

Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed as a new health minister to oversee rollout of the vaccine in England.

Asked on Monday whether people who get the Covid-19 jab will receive some kind of "immunity passport" to show they have been vaccinated, Mr Zahawi told the BBC: "We are looking at the technology.

"And, of course, a way of people being able to inform their GP that they have been vaccinated.

"But, also, I think you'll probably find that restaurants and bars and cinemas and other venues, sports venues, will probably also use that system - as they have done with the (test and trace) app.

"I think that in many ways, the pressure will come from both ways, from service providers who'll say, 'Look, demonstrate to us that you have been vaccinated'.

"But, also, we will make the technology as easy and accessible as possible."

However, asked about the possibility of vaccine passports, Mr Gove told BBC Breakfast: "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, that's not the plan."

"What we want to do is to make sure that we can get vaccines effectively rolled out."

He added that individual businesses would "of course" have the "capacity to make decisions about who they will admit and why".

"But the most important thing that we should be doing at this stage is concentrating on making sure the vaccine is rolled out."

Why it's too soon to talk about proof of vaccination


If a Covid vaccine becomes available, the NHS will keep a log of who has received it. That will be to make sure people are given the right number of doses and to allow any monitoring and follow-up.

But asking individuals to carry proof of vaccination would be for a different reason - to cut the risk of transmitting Covid to others.

Some countries already require immunisation certificates for diseases such as polio or yellow fever to prevent global spread.

The difficulty with proposing the same for Covid-19 is we don't yet know if immunisation stops someone being contagious.

The vaccine trials so far show that jabs are very good at preventing illness, but more studies are needed to determine if they will also prevent a person from "shedding and spreading" the virus.

That's why it's premature to talk about vaccine passports to give people access to pubs and clubs, let alone other countries.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street press conference on Monday: "For a long time now we've been looking at the questions that minister Zahawi was talking about and the question of what's the impact on the individual in terms of what they can do."

But he added that the government did "not plan to mandate the vaccine".

Many businesses have previously touted the idea of so-called immunity passports, which would allow people to get on a plane or visit a hospitality venue by showing proof that they were not infectious.

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said that the idea of storing vaccination records in the NHS Test and Trace app is controversial with privacy experts warning that using the app to display a user's vaccination status might lead to employers or public places making its use compulsory.

He adds: "Complex decisions would be involved, such as whether the app simply records immunisation or the results of later immunity tests proving that the user is no longer capable of spreading the virus."


Michael Gove says Covid immunity passports are "not the plan"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×