Health officials divided over ending use of Covid certs

Nphet meeting heard that focus should be on ‘long-standing deficits’ in the county’s health service exposed by the pandemic

Nphet members heard that evidence of the Covid-19 certificates acting as an incentive to get vaccinated is mixed. Picture: Getty

Discontinuing the use of the Covid-19 pass for hospitality divided members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) last month as it prepared to lift most restrictions following the Omicron wave.

Minutes from a meeting on January 20 show some members of the team favoured keeping the certificates in place for a number of reasons; they provided reassurance to vulnerable cohorts, served as a reminder to unvaccinated people of the risk of Covid-19 and ...