UK plans ‘vaccine passports’ to allow holidays abroad

New data confirms Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are extremely safe

Tourists at the Acropolis in Athens. Greece would welcome visitors with proof of inoculation. Getty Images

The UK is looking at providing “vaccine passports” for British citizens as Europe’s travel hotspots prepare to waive restrictions for tourists who can prove they have been inoculated against Covid-19.

Officials at the Foreign Office are understood to be working on a certification system for vaccinated Britons.

The government said there were no current plans for vaccine passports, but the situation remained under review.

Tourism bosses in Greece said British tourists could be welcomed back from May, provided they have proof of inoculation against the coronavirus, The Times reported.

Denmark and Sweden this week confirmed that they would bring in immunity certificates for their citizens.

The Danish plan will target the resumption of business travel in particular but authorities have said the plan could be expanded to include holiday travel.

UK Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said it would be up to the countries where holidaymakers are arriving to decide on whether vaccine passports would be necessary.

“The border measures of other countries and what they require of people coming to their countries will be up to them,’ he told Sky News.

“Receiving countries will set their own border measures and it will be up to those countries to define what they require travellers to have. At the moment, most countries, including our own, require a negative test result.

"We’ll have to see what countries, what the international community, put in place once vaccines around the world are as effectively distributed, as they are here in the UK.”

Members of the public receive a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at a temporary coronavirus vaccination centre set up at Villa Park football stadium, home ground of English Premiere League football team Aston Villa, in Birmingham. AFP

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said: “There are still no current plans to roll out vaccine passports, and as you know, going on holiday is currently illegal, but we’ve always been clear that we will keep the situation under review.”

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said that vaccine passports could deter people from going on holiday.

"A formal vaccine passport is adding a barrier to travel, there will be people who want to travel and who haven't been able to take the vaccine, maybe for a medical reason," he told The National.

“The whole point of travel is that it should be seamless and easy to do. Vaccine passports aren’t the way forward – it would be much better to simply show a certificate proving that you’ve had a vaccine in order to gain entry to a country that needed it.”

The Greek government is reportedly concerned about the efficacy of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

However, it is believed Greece is confident visitors who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Oxford-AstraZeneca one, both of which are being administered by the UK, are safe to travel.

Early data released this week suggested that the Oxford-AstraZeneca drug could stop the virus from spreading by up to two thirds as well as preventing serious illness.

The UK medical regulator said on Friday that safety reports also showed both vaccines administered in Britain were extremely safe.

Of the seven million doses delivered up until January 24, there were 22,840 reported reactions – three in every 1,000 people were adversely affected by the drug.

Almost all cases were mild, such as a sore arm or flu-like illness, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said.

In pictures - coronavirus in the UK

The UK government is set to implement stricter measures for travellers arriving at Heathrow from Monday 15 February. EPA

A sign showing a way to an airport hotel at Heathrow Airport in London. People arriving into Heathrow from so called 'at risk' countries will have to isolate in designated government hotels for up to ten days at their own cost. EPA

Travellers arrive at Heathrow Airport in London. EPA

A man records himself as he receives a Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-thru vaccination centre at Batchwood Hall in St Albans. Reuters

Workers look a list of addresses as they deliver home test kits for residents in Pollards Hill, London. Reuters

A woman gives a swab sample at a mobile self-testing centre in Pollards Hill, London. Reuters

Anita Berg welcomes health workers to the Well-being bus at Homerton University hospital in London. The bus, which is staffed by volunteer aircrew, is providing free drinks and snacks to NHS staff. AP Photo

Workers talk with a resident as they deliver home test kits in Pollards Hill, London. Reuters