Ipsos MORI Poll: Majority of Brits Support Vaccine Passports

The majority of Britons support vaccine passports but recognise concerns about the potential issues they could cause, a new poll by Ipsos MORI UK KnowledgePanel has found.

There is particularly strong support for the use of vaccine passports from people who are travelling abroad (78 percent), for visiting relatives in hospitals (74 percent) or care homes (78 percent).

Seven in ten say they should be needed to go to the theatre or an indoor concert (68 percent), while six in ten support needing one to go to the pub or eat out in a restaurant (62 percent), or to go to the gym (63 percent).

Britons also want to see vaccine passorts being a requirement for certain jobs. For example, eight in ten say that they should be required to work on the frontline in the NHS or care sector (79 percent), seven in ten say the same about teaching (69 percent), and two thirds think they should be needed to work as a tradesperson in people’s homes (66 percent), in a restaurant or pub (65 percent), or in a supermarket (63 percent).

Support and concerns

While Britons recognise some of the ethical or legal issues surrounding vaccine passports, six in ten think the potential benefits to the economy outweigh any concerns (62 percent).  Vaccine passports are seen as critical to getting businesses open (60 percent), and a good alternative to lockdowns (61 percent). They are also seen as a useful means of encouraging people to get vaccinated (61 percent).

However, there are some notes of caution in the findings. One in five think the ethical and legal concerns outweigh any potential benefits to the economy (22 percent), and half say that vaccine passports may lead to inequalities (52 percent agree that they will lead to an unequal society by restricting what people who haven’t received the vaccine can do).

There are also important differences by age, ethnicity and deprivation. For example, younger people, ethnic minority Britons, and those in more deprived areas express more concern about the legal and ethical issues, and are less likely to support their use. These groups have seen the lowest levels of vaccine confidence.

Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 8,352 people over 16 in the UK. Interviews were conducted online from 18 to 24 March, 2021.