Travellers are seen at Terminal 3 at London's Heathrow airport. File photo: Reuters
LONDON - The British government said it would recognize Covid-19 vaccines on the World Health Organization's Emergency Use Listing later this month, adding China's Sinovac and Sinopharm Beijing vaccines to the country's approved list of vaccines for inbound travellers.
The change, which will come into force from Nov. 22, means travellers who have received these two jabs will be considered fully vaccinated in Britain.
India's Covaxin is also included in Britain's updated list of approved vaccines.
Passengers arriving in Britain after having been fully vaccinated and having received their vaccine certificate from one of more than 135 approved countries and territories are no longer required to take a pre-departure test, a day eight test or self-isolate upon arrival.
Those who have proof of vaccination from a country or territory that is not on the list, or with a vaccine that is not listed, must follow the rules for people who do not qualify as fully vaccinated.
The approved vaccines list currently includes Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca (including Covishield), Moderna and Janssen (J&J).
Additionally, the British government has said that, from Nov. 22, all under-18s travelling to England will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border and will be exempt from self-isolation requirements on arrival, day eight testing and pre-departure testing.
They will only be required to take a post-arrival test and a confirmatory free PCR test if they test positive.
The British Department for Transport said on Monday the travel rules are being further simplified as all people under the age of 18 will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border and will be able to enter England without self-isolating on arrival.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the announcement marks the next step in the restart of international travel.
More than 87 percent of people aged 12 and over in the country have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 79 percent have received both doses, the latest figures indicated.
At the same time, more than 17 percent have received booster jabs, or the third doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
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