Now is the time to address issues of post-Covid travel

AS WE all know, an issue of crucial importance in tackling the Covid pandemic is the acquisition, distribution and injection of approved Covid vaccines.

Life will not return to some type of normality until most of the population of our island are fully vaccinated. Normality is likely to continue to require that those travelling into Ireland require a mix of pretravel Covid testing and quarantining. It is probable that once vaccination programmes are fully rolled out and completed, many countries, including Ireland, will permit only international travellers verifiably vaccinated to enter for family, business or tourist purposes.

Some may permit entry with the continued application of pre-travel testing and quarantine. A number of EU countries are currently considering this issue, others are not and there is no agreed approach across the EU.

When vaccinated, many in Ireland will for a variety of reasons wish to travel abroad. Ultimately, the issue of international travel will have to be addressed both within the EU and globally.

In the meantime, the Government should rapidly make the decisions required to create a non-forgeable vaccination passport or certificate to be issued to all those fully vaccinated with provision to certify booster jabs.

For this to work it will be crucial to maintain an up-to-date national record of all those fully vaccinated.

We should anticipate and constructively address and resolve issues that could otherwise detrimentally impact on and impede people’s lives and freedom after being fully vaccinated and, in dealing with Covid, not constantly play a game of catch-up.

Alan Shatter

Dublin 16