Boris Johnson says pubs and bars might ask for 'COVID-19 vaccine certificates'

UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said at a House address that some pubs and bars might require the customers to produce the vaccination certificate. British PM’s announcement comes as nearly 30 million citizens, roughly half of the UK's population, have been inoculated in multiple mass vaccination drives. “When people come to describe this epidemic to future generations, we’ll tell the story of the heroes of the NHS,” Johnson said, lauding the UK’s vaccination efforts. He added that the UK will vaccinate ‘every single of’ the clinically vulnerable population over the age of 50 by the middle of next month. 

“People, human beings, instinctively recognize when something is dangerous and nasty to them, and they can see that COVID is collectively a threat and they want us as their government, and me as the Prime Minister to take all the actions I can to protect them,” UK’s PM told House of commons. He added that the concept of vaccine certificates now that most of the population is immunized shall not astonish the citizens. Johnson said that it was “ a very serious issue” if someone by choice had left out on administering the dose to prevent spreading the deadly COVID-19 infection. Earlier he had also outlined a roadmap stating that international air travel may soon have the immunity passport to make travel a hassle-free experience for those who are vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. 

Pandemic 'UK's most difficult time' 

On March 23, UK’s PM remembered what he described as the “most difficult times in UK’s history,” when Britain went under the first national lockdown to contain the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.  He lauded the "great spirit" shown by Britain and sent “sincere condolences” to those who lost loved ones to the pandemic.  Johnson had ordered a nationwide lockdown, restricting all non-essential movement as he issued stay-at-home orders to contain the fast-spreading transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 when COVID-19 hit the British country. His administration shuttered all businesses, the hospitality sector, grounded air travel with planes line up at the tarmac, and paused all proceedings at the House of Commons and Scottish parliament for the first time. 

(Image Source: The Associated Press)