Covid in Scotland: Vaccine passport spot checks 'an option' for major events

Scotland's vaccine passport scheme may feature spot checks for large scale events such as football matches.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said such a move could "potentially" be introduced when the scheme goes live on 1 October.

It came after the head of Scotland's professional football league said it would be "very difficult" to check that all fans had a vaccine passport.

Plans to introduce the scheme in England have been scrapped.

Scotland's vaccine certification scheme means people over the age of 18 will need to show they have had both doses of a Covid vaccine before they are allowed entry to nightclubs and major events.

This includes outdoor events of more than 10,000, which will cover football matches involving larger clubs.

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Mr Yousaf was asked about the practical difficulties of vaccine passports on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

The health minister quoted from a paper published in advance of last week's Holyrood debate on the issue which stated: "What is proportionate on entry to a nightclub of 200 people may not be proportionate, or possible, in an event crowd of 60,000."

He added: "We acknowledged that for a different setting you are going to have to have, probably, different rules depending on that setting and you wouldn't want any adverse impacts, for example lots of people queuing and then potentially any crowd trouble that would follow on from there."

Questioned specifically about spot checks, he told the programme: "That is absolutely an option that we are happy to consider."

People will need to show a QR code before they are allowed into some venues

The health secretary said he was "surprised" by the decision to ditch the vaccine passport scheme in England and questioned whether it was taken on public health or political grounds.

Mr Yousaf also said ministers were "still working" on the definition of a nightclub.

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser welcomed the UK government's decision to abandon vaccine passports and said Scotland should now follow suit.

"The Scottish government have made a decision in the absence of evidence," he said.

Mr Fraser also branded the plan "half baked".

He added: "Now it seems that they're considering spot checks, but only after football clubs made it clear their plan was unworkable.

"The scheme will come into force in a matter of weeks and the SNP still can't provide any clarity on key questions surrounding its implementation."

Privacy concerns

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton welcomed the move to abandon vaccine passports south of the border.

He said: "It's sad to see that the Conservative government in Westminster has more concern for medical privacy than the SNP-Green coalition in Scotland does.

"The solution to the current crisis is vaccinations and a functioning contact tracing system, not Covid ID cards.

"You shouldn't have to share your private medical information with someone who is not your clinician."

Prof Devi Sridhar, of the University of Edinburgh, told Good Morning Scotland that the country needed to rely on testing and vaccines to keep the NHS running and the economy open.

She said: "We have seen internationally other places that have raced ahead with vaccine passports. Look at New York City. Look at France. Look at Denmark.

"And what they have found is that this is a way to keep businesses open, increase consumer confidence - so actually some of the big spenders in their 40s and 50s do go to these venues - and, in a way, increase uptake among young people."

Disorder risk

On Sunday the SPFL's Neil Doncaster said the only way to make the scheme work would be to carry out spot checks to avoid lengthy queues and possible disorder.

Mr Doncaster told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show that the SPFL was "hugely concerned" about the practicalities of delivering the scheme.

The football executive said blanket inspections of vaccine certification would risk "disorder" as frustrated fans turned up for games ahead of kick-off.

He added: "I think it can work, but I think spot-checking is frankly the only practical reality because if you are expecting football clubs to vaccine-passport-check 30,000 or 40,000 people in the minutes before kick-off, that's simply not going to happen.

"I don't think it's achievable, realistically."

The vaccine passport plan was formally approved by Holyrood last week after the SNP and Scottish Greens voted in favour.

Some businesses have complained of a lack of detail about how the scheme will work in practice.

The proposals were opposed by the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats.

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