Vaccinated Britons could no longer travel quarantine free – booster jab ‘will be needed’

Travel: Simon Calder reveals quarantine 'loophole'

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At the moment, Britons who have received their two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are considered fully-jabbed and are able to travel without restrictions. However, this can change once the booster roll-out begins, warned a Government source.

Travellers who have had their two jabs may not be considered “fully-vaccinate” anymore and may no longer be exempt from quarantine when entering other countries or returning to the UK.

A Government source said: “The assumption is that you will be required to have the most up-to-date health passport.

“So if the advice is to have a booster six months after your second jab, then that is what you’ll need,” the source told The Mail on Sunday.

Therefore, vaccine passports will need to be kept up to date with booster jabs in order to travel abroad.

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That means the booster vaccine will likely be mandatory to keep the Covid certificate for foreign travel.

At the present time, fully-vaccinated Britons are able to travel without restrictions and don’t need to self isolate when coming back from an amber list country.

Those who haven’t had the vaccine or have only received one dose have to isolate for 10 days on their return.

Former Conservative leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, commented on the matter.

“If I were the Government I would tread carefully on this.

“Booster jabs will take a while to get to the majority of the travelling public.

“And there are issues around whether they are necessary – some scientists say that they may not be necessary.”

The NHS will start the COVID-19 booster programme in September.

This third round of shots is in order to give more protection from coronavirus to those who are at risk.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Government is preparing for the roll-out.

“When it comes to booster jabs we are waiting for the final advice from [the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] … and when we get that advice we will be able to start the booster programme, but I anticipate it will begin in early September, so I’m already making plans for that,” Mr Javid said.

Matthew Duchars, CEO of the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, said combining the jabs would be ’preferable’ for everyone.

“It will save a lot of time and it would be a lot more convenient to just give one shot, so it is something that we and vaccine developers and producers will be looking at,” he said.

“Let’s say we do need to give a seasonal vaccine, and people need one shot for flu, and one shot for Covid and another for something else.

“If you can put them all into one, then that’s obviously preferable,” he explained.

The Government has announced all 16-and 17-year-olds will be offered the vaccine by August 23 before school starts in September.

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