‘Covid passport system may deny jobs and services to minorities’
ACTIVISTS SAY COMMUNITIES WITH LOW JAB TAKE-UP FACE RISK OF EXCLUSION
COVID certificates could trigger discrimination against ethnic minorities in the jobs market and access to services, academics and campaigners have warned.
They have raised concerns about the government considering plans to have documents to prove someone’s vaccine, test or antibody status to enter a sports venue, theatre or travel abroad.
The government’s independent equalities watchdog said detailed guidance for employers and businesses is needed to minimise the risk of any discrimination.
Employers should not be allowed to hire workers on a “no jab, no job” policy until all young people had been offered a vaccine, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said.
And so-called Covid passports risked further excluding groups among whom take-up of the jab is lower, including BAME people and migrants.
Dr Meera Sabaratnam, senior lecturer in international relations at SOAS University in London, told Eastern Eye: “We know that vaccination rates are affected by poverty, experiences of racism in the health service, and the hostile environment for migration, and these inequalities will be reflected in any vaccine passport system.
“Some of these factors will mean that it is hard to take time off from work or caring responsibilities, or travel to a vaccination centre, and others will mean that there is a lack of trust in the state and public health services, or indeed even a fear of the state itself.
“Countering these inequalities requires a transformation in the ways in which the state relates to vulnerable communities and people.”
Research in April found the proportion who think unvaccinated people will face discrimination has increased to 71 per cent compared to 40 per cent in March.
The study by the University of Bristol and King’s College London, also found that 49 per cent of the public fear Covid passports will be sold on the black market, up from 44 per cent in March.
Dr Sabaratnam added: “Lots of measures could be taken – from guaranteed paid sick leave and leave for vaccination and medical appointments, to more mobile vaccination offerings at a local level and involving more community representatives, to a dismantling of the hostile environment across all public services, and a desegregation of housing and public services. “These require a big shift in the approaches to public policy across the whole political spectrum.”
The EHRC clarified its stance last week. A spokesperson told Eastern Eye: “Our response to the Cabinet Office review on Covid status certificates makes clear they can provide a way of lifting restrictions and safely opening the economy. It is important to strike the right balance between individual liberty and the rights of others.
“We have explained how this can be achieved and follow equality law.
“Parliamentary oversight of a timelimited scheme would make sure that it remains a proportionate way to keep private and public spaces Covid-secure and those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons have access to exemption documentation. Detailed guidance for employers and businesses would also minimise the risk of any discrimination.”
Recent research at the University of Leicester showed lower rates of vaccine uptake among south Asian health staff, workers under 30, and those living in more deprived areas.
The university also found that up to a quarter of British healthcare workers have expressed hesitancy towards the injection due to conspiracy beliefs and a lack of ethnic minority participants in medical trials.
Dr Manish Pareek, associate professor in infectious diseases who led the study, said: “Understanding these drivers is important, because without this understanding you can’t implement any interventions.”
Meanwhile, 20 EU member states plan to start testing a common
clinical
EU “digital green certificate” which could be unveiled in mid-June. Spain said it aims to reopen to foreign tourists in June using its own Covid digital health certificate scheme. However, holidaymakers are facing the prospect of having to get multiple, potentially unconnected health certificates with several countries already developing and trialling their own schemes.
Under the UK’s roadmap, the earliest date international travel can resume from the UK is May 17.
Kishan Devani, vice president of the Liberal Democrats Campaign for Racial Equality, believes Covid ID cards would be unworkable, expensive and divisive. He added: “Aside from the enormous costs – who would trust this government to put this contract out for tender after the last year? – and the legal and logistical issues, we are clear that this ID card plan would represent an unacceptable undermining of civil liberties. “Meanwhile hospitality businesses have made it clear that they don’t have the resources to set up a “Checkpoint Charlie” to verify vaccination papers at their doors. “Big Brother Watch has found that a series of trial events for vaccine passports have been abandoned, with proposed venues left in the dark. They are not the best way to keep people safe from the virus, and would place a huge, unfair burden on pubs, restaurants and other hospitality businesses.”
Harmander Singh, a social policy expert, said he has security concerns over the plan. He said: “People who can have the jab and don’t, that is their own fault.
“But it doesn’t help when an NHS database was hacked [last week] giving the status of people who have and haven’t had the jab.
“There have been fake Covid certificates confiscated. I have always had concerns over national IDs for ethnic minorities and activists.
“What else are they going to find convenient to add in? There is a [hacking] danger, what safeguards are in place? The government needs to reassure us with these electronic databases.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the NHS app is being worked on to become a coronavirus health certificate for international travel by the government.
He said: “In terms of vaccine certification, I can confirm we are working on an NHS application, actually it will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS and so on, to be able to show you’ve had a vaccine or you’ve had testing.
“I’m working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, as that’s the way forward.”