Vax volunteers rage over Covid passport access
A THOUSAND Scottish vaccine volunteers are furious they cannot access the domestic Covid passports which come into effect on Monday.
Despite bravely stepping up for trials for the good of the country, they cannot download their passport electronically, unlike those who received vaccines in the standard way.
And while the Scots who trialled Novavax are being issued paper vaccine certificates, they say not every venue or airline recognises them – leaving them with big problems if they want to go on holiday or attend nightclubs and big football games.
Now, volunteers are calling on the Scottish government to issue them with an electronic passport to allow them to go about their lives.
One volunteer told the Record: “My certificate got damaged while we were decorating and they get dog-eared if you are carrying them about. I have to wait two or three weeks for a new one.
“They also do not come with QR codes, so I’m afraid some venues won’t recognise them. I sometimes travel from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, so there are costs of travel and accommodation involved as well as the price of the ticket. That is a lot of money to shell out if there is a chance you will be refused entry.”
Novavax has still to be approved for use in the UK but it was part of a formal UK trial and all those who tested it were assured they would be treated the same as members of the public who got their jabs as part of the national vaccination programme.
But another volunteer, Jill, said: “This is not the case. We are being discriminated against.”
She received her vaccination last October and has never had Covid. The vaccine was expected to be approved for use several months ago but the date as been pushed back four times.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the UK’s deputy chief medical officer, said at the time: “The Department of Health and Social Care makes a firm commitment to all volunteers in formally-approved Covid-19 vaccine trials in the UK that you will not be disadvantaged in terms of any future domestic vaccine certification, if introduced, compared to anyone else who has had their vaccines under the standard NHS programme.”
And he added: “The government will ensure information on those in clinical vaccine trials is linked to any potential mechanisms to demonstrate your vaccine status to ensure that anyone on a vaccine clinical trial can prove they are in a clinical trial and, therefore, should be treated as fully vaccinated.”
In England, those planning on travelling abroad are being invited, under medical supervision, to have a new set of Pfizer vaccines so they can access QR codes but that has not been arranged for Scots volunteers to date.
Last night, Scottish Lib-Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “That the brave volunteers who submitted themselves for a vaccine trial should be excluded from this scheme is outrageous.
“And it is further evidence that the IT system behind Covid ID cards just isn’t up to the job.
“It is another reason why the SNP needs to abandon this ridiculous scheme now.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “People who took part in the Novavax trial should have now received a paper vaccine certificate containing a barcode.
“These certificates are fully equivalent to the certificates provided through the normal route. They enable easier access to venues and will also permit smoother inbound entry to the UK.
“They do not have QR codes but be assured QR codes are not a requirement for domestic certification.
“UK partners have agreed that Records of Vaccination certificates for clinical trial participants will be accepted at venues.”