Freedom Day? Not Actually!

The extent to which ‘Freedom Day’ will really mean ‘freedom’ for England has been called into question after, in the last three days, the House of Commons has backed compulsory vaccination for care workers, London’s mayor has ordered masks still be warn on public transport, and the prime minister has called for some venues to use vaccine passports.

Despite not seeing a document detailing the mandate’s impact and after only one and a half hours of debate, MPs voted by 319 votes to 246 in the House of Commons to make vaccination against the Chinese coronavirus mandatory for care workers. Only around 30 Conservative MPs rebelled against the government’s authoritarian proposal.

The rules would mean that from the autumn, any member of staff working at a care home registered with the Care Quality Commission must be inoculated unless they have a medical exemption.

The vote comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that the end of most restrictions would come on July 19th — the much-anticipated ‘Freedom Day’. 

Labour’s London mayor Sadiq Khan announced on Tuesday night that passengers on all Transport for London services, such as buses, rail, and the underground, must continue to wear masks.

Healthcare providers, such as GPs and hospitals, will still be able to require visitors and patients to wear masks.

Also, during his statement on Monday, the prime minister urged large venues like nightclubs to use the NHS’s Covid Pass — which records vaccination status or proof of natural immunity or a negative test — as a vaccine passport required for entry, a demand that several industry professionals have already rejected.