Coronavirus news — live: Britons ‘ready to accept vaccine passports’ as retailers prepare for lockdown easing

Britons are ready to accept domestic coronavirus vaccine passports, and even to keep them once the pandemic has abated, exclusive polling for The Independent suggests.

More than half – 56 per cent – of people surveyed by Savanta ComRes said it would be acceptable to make shoppers show a pass before entering a store, while 32 per cent said it would not.

Retailers believe such a scheme would be unhelpful, coming after more than a year of disruption to their bottom lines.

Non-essential businesses are now gearing up for reopening in England tomorrow, with the public urged to respect retail workers and Covid-19 safety measures.

The British Retail Consortium said that “everyone should be considerate and respectful to their fellow shoppers and hard-working shop staff”, and not overreact if asked to comply with the rules.

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