Tanáiste Leo Varadkar has said the HSE and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly are looking at using vaccine passes to allow people to visit their loved ones in hospitals.
The measure was first flagged by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan in his letter to Minister Donnelly a number of weeks ago when he mentioned the vaccine pass system may be used for people visiting nursing homes.
Mr Varadkar has also revealed the Government is looking at how they can give unvaccinated people access to services which require vaccine passes.
But this will only be allowed for those who have a “practical reason” for not getting the jab – those who can’t due to a medical reason, or if an individual was advised not to get a second dose after they had a reaction to the jab.
It will not apply to people who just refuse to take a Covid-19 vaccine, Mr Varadkar indicated.
Speaking at Government Buildings on Wednesday, the Fine Gael leader said the vaccine pass for hospital visits “makes a lot of sense.”
He said: “Anything we can do to reduce the risk of the virus being introduced into hospitals makes sense to me.
“It [vaccine passes] could facilitate safe visits because nobody wants to be responsible for bringing the virus into a ward or hospital..
Read more: Tanaiste Leo Varadkar indicates Covid vaccine passes could be used for hospital visits
