Government committee finds govt deceived public over unscientific domestic vaccine passports
(My headline - ED)
Link: Covid-Status Certification - Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee - House of Commons
The committee is piqued, and not just about being bypassed. Some highlights from the above report:
Not scientific
" If a Covid-status certification system is to be introduced, there must be a clear scientific case for its introduction. But while the Government accepted this, we found that the Government failed to make a sufficiently strong scientific case for introducing Covid-status certification in the UK. Further, while the Government could not set out to us the exact locations, events and venues which would be included in a Covid-status certification system, there appears to be no scientific rationale for the places they indicated were under consideration and most likely to be included in that system (nightclubs, large events like football matches, and for international air travel) and those that appear to have already been excluded from inclusion in that system (buses, the Underground or pubs and restaurants). We are concerned that it appears that the Government is making decisions on a largely arbitrary basis as to what locations would be included or exempted, regardless of the scientific evidence."
Government deception, waiting for the summer clamour
" It is clear that the idea of certificates has been under consideration within Government for at least six months, however the conflicting and sometimes contradictory statements made by Ministers on the possibility of introducing certificates has risked damaging trust in Government and in the measures put in place to tackle the pandemic.…"
Unilateral actions
" While this inquiry and the Government’s own review were being conducted, the Government decided to pre-empt the findings of both and launched a Covid-status certificate for international travel, without notifying or consulting Parliament. This could be construed as contempt for Parliament and this Committee…"
So…unilateral action, bypassing its own committee, and any obvious scientific input–>govt likes the idea, provided it doesn’t provoke a backlash.
Lie about the plan until the summer clamour builds up then respond to the ‘public pressure’
Limit freedoms, squeeze businesses until both the public and the businesses call for the vaccine as the solution. Allow the businesses to turn the screw so they don’t get the blame.
Cheers
ED
