That the United Kingdom’s march into lockdown will continue without meaningful resistance was confirmed again on Wednesday when a top ‘Opposition’ politician said “you are going to need three jabs” to be fully vaccinated.
Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden has asserted we should stop calling the third injection of a coronavirus vaccine a “booster”, as two jabs are not enough to be fully vaccinated against the Omicron variant.
Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News on Wednesday morning, McFadden said: “We should probably stop thinking about it as a booster in order to be fully vaccinated. We should now think about having three jabs. To think about it as a booster is almost behind the curve, I think.”
He then clarified: “To be fully vaccinated against this new variant, you are going to need three jabs.”
The Shadow Chief Secretary also added that coronavirus passports were necessary to give venues the “confidence” they need to stay open and will help people “keep their jobs”.
McFadden said the alternative to the new restrictions is “social distancing” and events being “cancelled through fear”.
It is anticipated the triple jab Covid pass requirement, in some form, will be brought in by the government in the near future. On Monday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that two doses of the vaccination will no longer be enough to validate covid passes “once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab”.
The timeline has not yet been published. However, earlier today Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said three jabs becoming mandatory for international travel will become “inevitable”.
Pat McFadden’s comments have come following the UK Parliament voting through new coronavirus legislation which introduces a domestic Covid pass system in England.
The new restrictions include the implementation of domestic Covid passports for large events, such as nightclubs, mandatory mask-wearing in England in most public indoor settings, and guidance advising that people should work from home.
While the legislation did pass, Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced the largest rebellion of his premiership with 96 conservative backbenchers voting against the new restrictions.
This meant that Boris had to rely on votes from the left-wing Labour Party to pass the latest round of restrictions, as he only has a majority of 79.
With Labour supporting the Conservatives in regards to coronavirus policy, there is no major opposition to the government’s plans for future Covid legislation.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting reaffirmed Labour’s support for the Conservative’s coronavirus policies, saying: “Our promise to the country is to put public health before party politics.”
However, there were a few dissenters on the left, including former Labour leader and radical socialist Jeremy Corbyn as well as his alleged former lover and Labour MP Diane Abbott, who voted against the restrictions.
Mr Corbyn is currently suspended from the Labour Party following the publication of a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which “identified serious failings” in Labour’s handling of the harassment of Jewish supporters by members during Corbyn’s tenure as leader.
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