Covid: Will I need a vaccine passport to go on holiday?

The possibility of giving people "vaccine passports" to allow a return to international travel is being debated in the UK and elsewhere.

The UK government is yet to say it would support such a move, but former prime minister Tony Blair and Greek leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis are among those calling for their introduction.

More than 10 million people have been vaccinated in the UK so far. They have received a record card, while the immunisation has gone on their medical record.

It's been argued that a vaccine passport or certificate could allow people to prove their status when they travel abroad, as well as allowing a return to normal life at home.

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi has previously said the UK government is "looking at the technology" to create vaccine passports.

But Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said a vaccine passport was "not the plan," although businesses would be able to "make decisions about who they will admit and why".

The developers of a UK digital vaccine and immunity passport hope to offer the technology to local health authorities.

They say the data could help areas at different stages of vaccine roll-out make decisions on how to allow a return to work, school and "the kind of life that people want to lead".

Some academics and human rights groups fear vaccine passports could discriminate against those who are waiting for the vaccine, can't have it, or do not want it.

However, a team from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics suggest it's "unethical" to keep people isolated who have no or little risk of spreading coronavirus.

"If we have the technology to decide who is not a risk, we should use it," they say in the medical journal, medical journal The Lancet.

Relaxing restrictions for low-risk individuals may also encourage people to have the jab, according to one of the article's authors, Dr Rebecca Brown: "There are people who are keen to be vaccinated and there are other people who are less sure and additional freedoms could be an incentive."

Plumbing firm Pimlico Plumbers says it will require workers to be vaccinated, and may not keep on those who don't comply.

However, demanding staff are vaccinated would be unlawful in the "majority of circumstances", says Ella Bond, an employment lawyer at Harper James solicitors.

She says it could lead to unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. Exceptions could be if it was "job critical" for people to be vaccinated - for example care home workers, or roles requiring overseas travel.

Another question is whether companies could refuse to serve unvaccinated customers.

Saga, which specialises in holidays for the over-50s, says passengers on its 2021 holidays or cruises must be fully vaccinated.

Australian airline Qantas says travellers will eventually need to prove coronavirus vaccination to board its flights.

There are encouraging signs that people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to spread coronavirus.

A study by the University of Oxford carried out weekly tests on people who had received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

It suggesed the vaccine may have a "substantial" effect on transmission of the virus.

The short answer is yes.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was "important that everybody post-vaccination continues to follow [lockdown] rules", to bring the number of cases down and to protect themselves.

However, it is hoped widespread vaccination could ultimately allow some or all of the population to move closer to normality.