Tony Blair has called for people vaccinated against coronavirus to be given greater freedom than the un-vaccinated both in the UK and when travelling abroad.
The former prime minister claimed discriminating between the two would mean fewer restrictions both at home and abroad and provide “a powerful incentive” to get a jab.
He said it “makes no sense at all to treat those who have had vaccination the same as those who haven’t”.
His comments came in response to a new report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which says “vaccine status matters” and that health passes can “allow citizens to prove their status in a secure, privacy-preserving way”.
The report’s authors said that, if a health pass system was used at home and abroad, “we can move beyond blunt, catch-all tools and align with other countries by removing certain restrictions for the fully vaccinated, thereby enabling us to sustainably reopen the economy”.
It added: “For as long as the world goes largely unvaccinated and the risk of a new variant remains significant, it’s vital that we have an alternative to the blunt tool of lockdowns to enable the country to live freely and safely.”
Mr Blair said: “It is time to distinguish for the purposes of freedom from restriction between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, both for citizens here for domestic purposes; but also for our citizens and those from other countries in respect of travel on the basis that being vaccinated substantially reduces risk.”
In response to his remarks, a senior government source told the PA news agency: “Once again Mr Blair appears to have learned of things already in the pipeline and decided to publicly call for them.
“It’s becoming something of a habit. Nonetheless, we thank him for his continued support.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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