I'll tweet more about this over the next few days, but I've been chatting to well placed sources in NI on this idea of "immunity passports/vaccine passports".

1. Why were they cancelling foreign summer holidays for 2021 when it's likely most will be vaccinated?

2. Why the forewarning on lockdowns for next winter when everyone who wants the vaccine will have had their 2 doses?

3. What's the real story with the masks and Swann's claim, they're here forever?

The answer to number 1 is truly intriguing. What do you think...?

1 = 'There is no certainty vaccines give immunity therefore immunity passports are a no-go for now. Vaccine passports need a selling point. Why have a passport for a vaccine that only, at best, stops the person receiving it getting seriously ill?

1 = 'If foreign holidays are permitted this year, with all those who want to be vaccinated, vaccinated, and there is no increase in cases either in the visited country or here when the persons return, how do you sell the need for a passport? What would be the point of it?'

1 = 'There is an acceptance now that some form of Covid passport is the 'get out of jail card' and until it can be sold the fear around the pandemic will be stretched out. This is why you keep hearing 2022. They're hoping for few cases over next winter when they could then sell..

1 = '..the vaccine as a success and thus introduce the passports. This isn't a NI Executive plan. It's coming from SAGE and the WHO.'

2 = 'No one knows how successful the vaccine is so they want to "sit out" next year's winter before making further decisions.'

(Paraphrased)

Most of the things I've been tweeting about recently, more or less. One source, consistently pointed me to SAGE. As I noted during the week, I had been told that McBride is SAGE's point man in NI. What I found uncanny is that I was been told what I personally suspected.