As Ireland reaches its 1,000,000th vaccination administered, what are some changes vaccinated people can look forward to?
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced that fully vaccinated people will be granted additional freedoms to the current lockdown restrictions, providing many people who are worried about the vaccine with an incentive to receive the dose as quickly as possible.
Work is underway by the government to develop and distribute a “digital green certificate vaccine pass” to members of the public that have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, to prove to businesses, hospitals, venues and other countries that they are fully inoculated against the coronavirus.
Looking ahead, we ask what additional freedoms could the fully vaccinated see once we’ve reached a safe point in the rollout of vaccines.
Use of non-essential businesses
While businesses in the private and public sector have been dealt a heavy blow, due to the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses for public-health reasons, retailers, hairdressers and restaurants could see a partial re-opening for vaccine pass holders, similar to the UK’s plan which would see these businesses open by July 2021.
Indoor group gatherings
Taoiseach Micheal Martin previously mentioned when speaking on the April 12 changes to restrictions, that fully vaccinated people are now able to meet with other fully vaccinated people without masks and physical distancing.
There is much debate around allowing socially distanced crowds into stadiums and theatres to watch a sporting event or play, but looking to New York City as an example, last month, Broadway starts appeared in Times Square to mark the one year anniversary of the Broadway shutdown.
Executive Director of the Actors’ Equity Association Mary McColl told ABC News at the time: “We have been having conversations with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment about safety on a regular basis throughout the pandemic. It is clear that we were heard and the city is pushing forward-looking policy changes that will serve the entire theatrical community.”
Theatre could possibly move from outdoor pop-up performances to indoor socially distanced performances for the vaccinated.
Romantic getaways in the country
With a recent study from the Finders’ Travel Index revealing that one in five Irish adults intend to travel in the coming three months, Airbnb could see a revitalised demand for houses and apartments in the countryside as the vaccinated could travel from county to county.
International travel
The vaccine passport has been in the news recently with many European countries including Spain, Portugal, Greece and Malta all working to ensure a safe return of the tourism industry in these popular summer destinations.
Although not explicitly mentioned by the government, it stands to reason that two vaccinated people will be able to hug after over a year of having to remain distant to keep each other safe.
It mightn’t sound like the most extravagant allowance, but it will make a huge difference for some.
Parent/Teacher meetings
Returning to normal life, means returning to the mundanity of pre-COVID times, and although it make take a while longer than some other changes on this list, this change will really be the marker of Ireland returning to normal.