'Vaccine cards on Ebay': Bracknell MP reacts and weighs in on passports

An investigation by Jim Scott of The Northern Echo revealed that people are selling vaccination certifications online for £5. Although the advertisement was taken down by eBay, the listing Mr Scott found had seen 135 cards sold.

The vaccination certificates can be obtained only after a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, and are official documents issued by the British Government.

There are fears that the certificates are precursors to vaccine passports, and that the people selling the documents are “taking advantage”of a desire to obtain them fraudulently.

READ MORE: Almost half of Bracknell has been vaccinated against Covid-19

It comes as businesses within the travel industry are considering requesting customers to provide proof of vaccination before travel. Foreign countries are also considering requiring proof of vaccination before entry.

James Sunderland, MP for Bracknell (Conservative), expressed openness to the idea of vaccine passports as a way to kick start the economy and allow global travel to get back to normal levels.

He said: “On vaccine passports – I am broadly supportive of any measure that allows us to re-open the economy, restore our international travel sector and boost tourism, hospitality and leisure at the earliest opportunity.

“We also have a responsibility to keep each other safe so this is about communities working for the common good.

“I am of course mindful of the argument that passports may in some way inhibit individual freedoms but we already have yellow fever, rabies and other inoculations listed on travel documentation, and to be frank, this is ultimately about public health and saving life.

“On the alleged selling of vaccine certification – I have seen no direct evidence of this but it would be regrettable and irresponsible if true.

“Proof of vaccination is clearly given to individuals who are deemed to be fit to go about their business so this is not only fraudulent but highly dangerous.”

READ MORE: Bracknell MP: "No-one has done more than Boris Johnson to tackle the pandemic"

Speaking in The Northern Echo, Kevan Jones MP for North Durham (Labour) called for the Government to provide more stringent proof of vaccinations which are not vulnerable to being sold online.

Agreeing, Mr Sunderland said: “I would be inclined to agree with Kevan Jones MP that the Government may wish to consider a more fool proof and individually attributable way of creating such certification so that the public health imperative is maintained.”

Mr Sunderland has previously called for there to be vaccination stamps on passports – so that anyone who has received the vaccine can prove it easily when travelling.

During the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement on the Covid Winter Plan on Monday, November 23, 2020, Mr Sunderland asked:  “International travel is vital for our recovery, not least in the aviation, hospitality, leisure and business sectors. Has the Prime Minister given any thought to the utility of having vaccination stamps in passports, or an equivalent scheme, to get our planes off the ground?

Prime Minister Boris Jonhson answered: “I can assure my honourable friend that the Secretary of State for Transport is looking at all such schemes. I am sure he will have heard what my honourable friend has said loud and clear. He will be making some announcements very shortly.”

There are arguments that coronavirus passports limit public freedoms and could create a two-tier society, with those who are vaccinated receiving higher freedoms and those who are not. There are even fears separations between vaccinated and unvaccinated people could be used as the basis for a Social Credit System similar to that instituted by the Chinese Communist Party.

However, complete rejection of vaccine passports is a minority opinion in the UK according to a professional polling firm.

An Ipsos MORI UK KnowledgePanel poll found that 78 per cent of people supported a vaccine passport in order to travel abroad, with only 12 per cent of people opposed to it. More broadly, 74 per cent of those surveyed supported a vaccine passport in order to see loved ones in hospital, or in care homes (78%). Seven in ten people said they should be needed to go to the theatre or an indoor concert (68 per cent), while six in ten support needing one to go to the pub or eat out in a restaurant (62 per cent).

The poll surveyed 8,352 people over 16 in the UK. Interviews were conducted online from March, 18 to March 24.

An official e-petition urging the Government not to roll out vaccine passports was signed by 585 people in Bracknell Forest. The petition received a total of 346,288 signatures, above the 100,000 threshold to be debated in Parliament. The topic was debated on Monday, March 15.

An official response to the petition states: “The Government is reviewing whether COVID-status certificates could play a role in reopening parts of our economy, reducing restrictions on social contact and improving safety.”