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Nadhim Zahawi, UK government minister responsible for COVID-19 vaccinesParliamentlive.tv screenshot

LONDON, United Kingdom (LifeSiteNews) – The British Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment has announced that vaccine passports will be required to enter “large venues” from October.

Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, also gave contradicting statements on parental consent for the vaccination of 12 – 15-year-olds.  

Speaking with Sky News host Trevor Philips on Sunday, Zahawi announced that COVID passports will be required to access “large venues” as early as October. Zahawi said that the passports are being introduced in order to “make sure the whole economy remains open.”  

We are looking at, by the end of September, when everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated for the large venues, venues that could end up causing a real spike in infections, where we need to use the certification process,” he told Sky News. 

The British vaccine minister did not specify what he meant by the term “large venues.”  

Zahawi claimed that the measure is justified by the need to protect the economy and to prevent the closure of many businesses throughout the winter due to possible “spikes” in COVID cases.  

He added: “The worst thing [to] do for those venues is to have a sort of open-shut-open-shut strategy.”

The minister believes instead that “the best thing to do is to work with the industry to make sure that they can open safely and sustainably in the long term.”

“The best way to do that is to check vaccine status.” 

The announcement follows official data, based partly on unreliable results from PCR testing of asymptomatic people, showing an increase in COVID cases in the United Kingdom.

Earlier this year Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that vaccine passports would be required from the end of September in order to gain access to nightclubs and “other venues” where “large crowds gather.” Johnson also warned at the time that “proof of negative test [would] no longer be sufficient.” 

U.K. government officials have made multiple contradictory statements on vaccine passports in the past, and Zahawi’s latest announcement represents a complete reversal of previous statements on the issue.  

In December 2020, the minister stated: “We have no plans to introduce so-called vaccine passporting” and urged businesses “not to even think about that.” Speaking during a December 14 parliamentary debate on whether restrictions would be imposed on those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, Zahawi stated: “While I am aware that other nations may consider immunity passports alongside vaccination, it is my fervent belief that we must not penalize people who remain unconvinced.” 

Thousands of deaths and millions of other injuries occurring soon after receiving the COVID-19 inoculations have been logged in vaccination injury reports around the world. In addition, many Catholics and other Christians object to the COVID-19 jabs because cell-lines derived from aborted babies were used in their production.

Zahawi also praised the U.K. Football Association (FA) for their policy of systematically checking the vaccination status of fans gathering in stadiums for professional soccer matches. 

“If you look at what the FA has done, they’ve done so brilliantly in terms of checking vaccine status to reopen football,” he said.

He described the measure as “the sort of right thing to do” adding: “we are absolutely on track to continue to make sure that we do that.” 

Vaccine minister contradicts himself also on parental consent

The vaccine minister contradicted himself on another issue on Sunday, this time within just a few hours, when he discussed vaccination for 12 – 15-year-old UK nationals, a topic which is sparking much controversy in the country.  

When asked by Sky News host Trevor Philips if he could “assure parents that if there is a decision to vaccinate 12 – 15-year-olds, it will require parental consent,” Zahawi replied with confidence: “I can give that assurance, absolutely.” 

“That assurance” however, seems rather weak when contrasted with another statement Zahawi gave on the same day, this time on British digital radio station Times Radio. 

When asked by Times Radio’s Tom Newton Dunn what will be done in the case where a teenager wants to receive the vaccine, but his parents are opposed to it, Zahawi replied that the decision of the teenager would then trump parental consent. 

Zahawi assured Newton Dunn that the NHS is “really well-practiced in this because they’ve been doing school immunisation programmes for a very long time” and explained that as long as a discussion takes place between the teenager, the parents, and the clinician, the teenager will have the final say. 

“What you essentially do is make sure that the clinicians discuss this with the parents, with the teenager, and if they are then deemed to be able to make a decision that is competent, then that decision will go in the favor of what the teenager decides to do,” Zahawi explained.

Though Zahawi mainly discussed vaccination for those teenagers in the “high-risk category,” universal vaccination of 12-15-year-olds is currently under discussion, and the agenda is being pushed by the British government. 

Such a measure would go against the recommendation of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which said on Friday that there are no health benefits to be drawn from vaccinating healthy teenagers between the ages of 12 and 15, as they are considered “extremely low risk”, and advised that parents should decide.  

The idea of universal vaccination for children has sparked much controversy in the UK. Boris Johnson is expected to meet strong resistance within the Conservative party should he agree to go ahead with the plan, and on Friday protesters gathered in front of a drug regulator’s office in London in opposition to the planned vaccination campaign for children. Some protesters attempted to storm the building.  

Following Zahawi’s comment yesterday that teenagers could overrule their parents’ consent to get vaccinated, Times Radio host Tom Newton Dunn gave Zahawi the opportunity to confirm his statement.

“So, to be clear, the teenager can override the lack of parental consent?’ asked Dunn, adding: “If a teenager really wants a jab and is only 15, the parents say no, the teenager can have it?”

Zahawi replied: “If they’re deemed to be competent to make that decision [having received] all of the information available.”  

It is worth noting that the current official age of consent in the UK is 16.