NTIA Comments on Volatility of Government-Mandated Vaccine Passports

The spread of COVID-19 hasn’t been easy or predictable for anyone, but especially for industries that rely on live events like music and sporting. With things changing all the time, it’s been frustrating to get a glimmer of hope, only for rules to change time and time again. Of course, we have to consider the importance of public health and what is best for the people, but unpredictability has made many feel confused and helpless.

The music industry took a large hit with over a year of quarantine, and the surge of the many variants has again made it uneasy to understand if these industries would survive. The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), whose mission is to “rebuild, protect and grow night time experiences and industries – encompassing providers and supporters of hospitality, arts & culture, retail, events and performance” by advocating, educating, and collaborating to support growth and innovation in the night time economy, takes the time to speak out.

The organization's CEO, Michael Kill, makes an official statement about what’s been going on in the UK.

“I don’t think I have ever seen a Government reverse its position on one issue so many times. What chaos, and what an abhorrent way to treat a sector that has been one of the worst hit during the pandemic. We estimate vaccine passports will kill off about 30% of our trade. Yesterday, the sector was rejoicing that our campaigning efforts had paid off and that the policy was dead. Today, businesses up and down the country are once again thinking they may have to make an enormous and detrimental change to their operating model in the next couple of weeks. The idea too, that a vast and logistically challenging policy can be kept in ‘reserve’ – as if businesses can and will be able to, at a moment’s notice, have all of the training and technology in place to administer these systems – is absurd. Sometimes it feels like ministers have no idea what it is like to run a business.”

Today, the NTIA also represented the sector at the Prime Minister's Briefing and gave the statement in person. It may have worked, as reports say that the UK is now foregoing the requirements for vaccine passports.

We’re unsure of what might happen in the next few days, but we hope that everyone who chooses to attend a live event does so safely and caringly.