Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for preparations for a fourth vaccination rollout to be put in place for when it’s needed.
‘The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change’, a pro-globalisation non-profit organisation, has predicted that a “fourth dose of the vaccine may soon be needed” in Britain and so have recommended that a “command and control” public-health emergency operations centre be set up to facilitate this.
Alongside a push for preparing for a fourth jab, the Institute’s report also mentioned that 6.2 million people in the UK “remain completely unvaccinated” and that “bespoke” plans using “behavioural science” must be created to “persuade them to get the jab”.
The Institute’s calls for a fourth jab appears well ahead of even the government’s own curve, as the UK is in the middle of rolling out its third wave of vaccinations, with the government reporting on the 16th of December that less than half of the population have had the booster.
Domestic “Covid passes” were also called for in Blair’s report, highlighting that it was Blair’s organisation who pushed for them last February. The report acknowledged that the British government already requires Covid passes for large events, but the Institute is keen for the government to go a step further and expand their use into areas such as the “hospitality sector”.
Blair’s Institute also suggested the government should no longer accept debate around Covid passes, and instead they recommend that “the government should now ignore the vocal minority who view Covid passes as a form of excessive state coercion”.
The “vocal minority” appears to include the 126 MPs who voted against the government’s Plan B which introduced Covid passes at large venues.
Despite the low impact of coronavirus on the child population compared with adults or elderly, the report advised the government “authorise the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 as soon as possible”, and to consider “encouraging” the use of masks in schools for “children aged 10 and 11”, until “60% of children aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated”.
Speaking in support of the Institute’s suggestions GB News reports that Mr Blair said:
The lesson of Omicron emphasises yet again that Covid-19 surprises us usually on the downside. This report is about how we stay ahead of the curve, rather than constantly playing catch-up.
The report has been released at a time where Mr Blair has indicated his interest to re-enter the political arena. In 2017 Blair said he was ready to “get [his] hands dirty” again and return to politics, and has been increasingly vocal in British politics throughout the pandemic.
Blair’s ‘Institute for Global Change’ employs about 230 people, with the majority of the staff working in the government advisory arm.
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