Limor Simhony Philpott

What Britain can learn from Israel’s vaccine passports

Boris Johnson’s announcement about vaccine passports was met with criticism from backbenchers on both sides of the political spectrum. The scheme was described as potentially ‘discriminatory’ with warnings that it may lead to a ‘two-tier’ Britain. Labour leader Keir Starmer even said the use of vaccine passports is ‘not British.’

Given the deep suspicion towards national identification cards, this did not come a surprise. But if the government eventually chooses to use vaccine passports, some lessons from Israel’s experience may be helpful.

Despite their cultural differences, the Israeli and British publics are protective of their democratic rights and liberal freedoms

Israel has been giving digital certificates to people following their second vaccination or issuing ‘recovery certificates’ to those who have had Covid-19. The scheme started in February – only after every adult in the country had been offered a vaccine. To register for a passport online, Israelis need to give their ID or passport number, date of birth, and approval for their health care provider to verify the person has received the vaccine or recovered from Covid. The certificate is now a requirement for visiting a long list of public places, including gyms, restaurants (although only for sitting indoors), football stadiums, theatres, museums, conferences, shopping centres and other large venues. A vaccine certificate also provides freedom from quarantine and fewer restrictions during international travel.

There was little public debate about the use of certificates before the scheme started; most Israelis either supported it and viewed it as necessary in order to resume normal life, or had more passively resigned themselves to this new reality. The majority of Israeli Knesset members in parliament did not voice their opposition. The strongest criticism came from a small group of anti-vaxxers, some of whom see the virus as nothing more than a conspiracy. Others don’t deny the pandemic but are refusing a vaccine for other reasons.

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