UK’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that the government plans to extend plans for vaccine passports to include booster shots when all adults have had “a reasonable chance” to get the third jab, meaning citizens will have to get a booster to more easily participate in all aspects of society.
Related: How vaccine passports are crushing freedom, privacy, and civil liberties
While many Conservative Party MPs rebelled against the party’s leader Boris Johnson and voted against the measures, there were unfortunately enough votes from left-wing parties such as Labour to make up the votes to get the controversial measures passed.
Boris Johnson triggered the “Plan B” winter plan last week, under the guise of an effort to get ahead of the Omicron variant. The plan, which was approved by parliament on Tuesday, mandates vaccine passports to access events and venues, including nightclubs and sports stadiums.
“Once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab, we intend to change this exemption to require a booster dose,” Javid told MPs on Monday.
Javid predicted “graver months ahead,” alleging that the booster shots were necessary. Despite the massive vaccine rollout, the UK is about to reach an all-time high in terms of the number of Covid cases.
Some members of Johnson’s Conservative Party opposed making Covid passes mandatory for large events. 100 of them voted against his vaccine passport plans, which is more than the number of seats that form Johnson’s majority in parliament.
