The principle at stake here is that which I wrote about last week: equality. A vaccine passport system, once created, will be rolled out again when new variants or pandemics threaten. As they did with initial lockdowns, poorer countries are likely to take a lead on this policy from richer ones: a vaccine passport system in a country without mass access to vaccines would truly be apartheid-like. Meanwhile, the reliance on the vaccine passport in international travel will simply be another wall-like obstacle confronting would-be immigrants to the West. But the realpolitik of the situation is that, if it is the only way to open indoor hospitality, a vaccine passport is coming, never mind the principles.

Source: Irish Independent July 04, 2021 01:30 UTC