The Catalan High Court's authorization of the plan by the Catalan Government to turn the Covid passport into an essential document in a large number of activities from midnight on Thursday certifies three things: the authorities' fear of what might happen during the holiday break in early December, between the 3rd and 8th, and the long-awaited Christmas and New Year holidays; the failure of the Catalan health ministry campaigns to raise awareness among the population that has not yet been vaccinated of the fact that the risk for them is too high and also, partly, that it is too high for those who have been vaccinated.
Thirdly, the bad news of the renewed spread of the virus, the rise in infection rates and hospital admissions, together with the European concern over the sixth wave, which has already led to two medical news stories: the recommendation of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for a third dose for all those over 40 and a second indication from the European Medicines Agency approving the vaccination of children aged five to eleven with the Pfizer vaccine. Every day, however, there are developments, which indicates the volatility of decisions and their dispersion, depending on the country. On Thursday, France raised the possibility of giving a third dose to everyone over 18 years of age when five months have gone by since their previous shot.
For many months now, I have been arguing that the Covid passport is, undoubtedly, the best solution. Not because it has no worrying elements, but because there is no alternative in the fight against this pandemic that is ideal and painless. However, it is quite obvious that the percentage of people vaccinated is so high that the measures taken must favour the protection of this broad group, while causing the least possible damage to those who have freely decided not to be vaccinated. And the Covid passport that will now be extended to bars, restaurants, gyms and sports facilities and nursing homes - having already been applied to other activities such as nightlife or celebrations in which dancing can take place - has this main virtue. Another thing is how the measure is carried out, as it is not easy to apply and inspection will, in practice, be almost non-existent, as there will not be a police officer in every establishment.
Here in Catalonia the most important thing is to control the spread of the virus and keep economic activities open. And now, with vaccination at levels above 85%, this must be possible if decisions are not made late or if there is no general non-compliance with the regulations approved by the Catalan government. With regard to the extension of the Covid passport to other activities, it is obvious that in Catalonia that has been done late and that several weeks ago it should have been adopted, as it was not a problem, for example, for restaurants, which were perfectly prepared. At least, as prepared as they are now. Because, in the end, everything happens in a rush and nothing seems to have been learned.