COVID passports are “set to be SCRAPPED this month” as the wave of mild Omicron cases begins to ease.
The vaccine passes are to be abandoned this month after Health Secretary Sajid Javid “effectively killed off the policy,” according to reports.
The Health Sec told MPs that he shared their “instinctive discomfort” at the vaccine passport policy.
Plan B measures are reviewed on January 26, and it’s becoming likely that the only Covid rule which will continue beyond then is mask-wearing indoors, reports The Times.
This means that vaccine Covid passports are set to be dropped altogether.
Last month, the passes were introduced for when Brits would enter large events and nightclubs in England as part of plan B measures when the Omicron surge began.
But Sajid Javid is set to now argue that there’s no need for them with Omicron’s wave now weakening.
A Whitehall source told the paper: “There was always a very high threshold for the policy and it looks increasingly likely in a couple of weeks that threshold won’t be met.
“The way cases are going it will be hard to justify renewing.”
This comes as Heath Secretary Sajid Javid said “there are already early signs that the rate of hospitalisation is starting to slow”.
He told the Commons this week: “Due to the lag between infections and hospitalisations, the NHS will remain under significant pressure over the next few weeks.
“It is encouraging, however, that during this wave we have not seen an increase in Covid-19 intensive care patients, and there are already early signs that the rate of hospitalisation is starting to slow.
“We know that Omicron is less severe. But no-one should be under any illusions – it is severe for anyone that ends up in hospital, and that’s far more likely if you have not had the jab.”
Deaths are still higher than they had been, with 335 new fatalities reported, although this is lower than yesterday’s 398.
This fits with the pattern of a Covid wave however – a few weeks on from high cases, some extra deaths will now sadly catch up for those harder hit with the virus.
PASSED ON
A string of hugely positive studies show Omicron is milder than other strains in the vaccinated, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
Trending In The News’s Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits’ arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
Yesterday the latest data from a Covid survey revealed the Omicron wave has peaked in the UK.
Professor Tim Spector said: “From Zoe data, the Omicron peak has gone, a few days ago.
“Across the country we are seeing a decrease in virtually all areas, except perhaps the North East, but that is starting to slow down.
“The Omicron wave has peaked and is going down so we’re on the other side so that’s great – but of course we don’t know what the future holds.”
It was also revealed just under half of all patients with Covid in hospital are being treated for something else primarily.
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