London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 25, 2026

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
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches in UK Pharmacies
UK Payroll Employment Falls by 94,000 as Labour Market Cools
Onshore Wind Planning Applications in England Reach Ten-Year High After Rules Eased
UK Government Demands Social Media Platforms Remove Dangerous Driving Content After A66 Crash
Thames Water Creditors Face Backlash Over Proposed Corporate Restructuring
Twelve Arrested After Fatal A66 Crash Linked to Organised Crime Investigation
UK Household Energy Debt Could Reach £7 Billion by Year-End
UK Defence Ministry to Use Ukraine Battlefield Data to Train AI Security Systems
UK Government Redirects £4 Billion of Affordable Homes Funding Away From Social Housing
UK Government Borrowing Reaches £1.8 Billion in July, Exceeding Forecasts
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Pledges Advanced Missile Support for Ukraine
8Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Risks Rise
Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Give Ukraine Classified Storm Shadow Blueprints for Domestic Missile Production
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Plunge 45% to Lowest Levels on Record
Government Audit Reveals Pressure on UK Hospitality From Business Rates and Rising Costs
Kindertransport Survivor Prepares to Revisit European Sites Linked to Her Family’s Wartime Separation
Northern England Transport Operators Strengthen Contingency Plans as Travel Demand Rises
New Implant Trials Offer Treatment Prospects for Patients With Refractory Angina
South Wales Reviews Wildfire Response After Exceptionally Dry Summer
UK Treasury Prepares Autumn Fiscal Statement Amid Spending and Defense Pressures
Norfolk Records First Wild Beaver Births in More Than Five Hundred Years
Historic Portrait of Benjamin Disraeli Reported Missing From Parliament’s Art Collection
Five People, Including Police Officers, Killed in A66 Crash as Families Pay Tribute
Most English Secondary Schools Found to Fall Short of National Healthy Food Standards
UK Think Tank Says Productivity Growth May Be Stronger Than Official Data Shows
Reform Party Proposes Lower Social Housing Priority for Foreign-Born UK Citizens
UK Government Plans Business Rate Overhaul to Ease Pressure on Pubs and Hotels
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches Across NHS Pharmacies in England
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Fall to Lowest Level in a Decade
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv to Reaffirm Long-Term Military Support for Ukraine
Iranian Hackers Shut Down British Power Plant for Four Days in Landmark Cyber Attack
Novak Djokovic Reveals Relentless Self-Doubt and Rejects Retirement in New Documentary
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods After Bilateral Trade Talks Collapse
First Bus Bars Unaccompanied Under-Sixteens From Evening Services in Stoke-on-Trent
Lithium-Ion Battery Fires Cost UK Waste Sector About One Billion Pounds a Year
Reform UK Proposes Lower Social Housing Priority for Foreign-Born Naturalised Citizens
UK Government Deploys AI Drones in Crackdown on Illegal Waste Dumping
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Disruption for British Travellers and Freight Operators
UK Expands Voluntary Drug Treatment Programme for Sex Offenders to Twenty Prisons
CrossCountry Cancels Most Services After Major Power Failure at Control Centre
Met Office Warns El Niño Could Bring Severe Autumn Storms and Higher Food Prices
Resolution Foundation Says UK Productivity Growth May Be Stronger Than Official Data Suggest
Andy Burnham Proposes Giving Regional Mayors Greater Planning Powers
UK Government Overhauls Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Links
Russia Withdraws Ambassador to Britain and Warns of Retaliation Over UK Drone Supplies to Ukraine
Iran-Linked Hackers Blamed for Cyberattack That Shut Down UK Power Plant
Andy Burnham Pledges UK Support for Long-Range Missile Production in Ukraine
Australia Combines Indigenous Fire Knowledge With Satellite Tech to Combat Catastrophic Wildfires
Father and Son Jailed in Scotland Over £900,000 Airport Cannabis Smuggling Operation
UK Fraud Reports Surge Sevenfold as Criminals Exploit QR Codes in Parking Meters and Phishing Emails
×