The UK government will reportedly change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to mean having had three shots and reimpose travel restrictions on people with only two doses.
British travellers are facing the return of quarantine and testing restrictions if they have not “topped up” their vaccination status, in a move intended by the government to curb the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, it is claimed.
“This is not going to happen immediately – but happen it will,” a government source told the Mail on Sunday.
The plan, which is said to be modelled on the Israeli system, would change the definition of fully vaccinated to mean three doses of a vaccine rather than the current two jab requirement.
The restrictions would also mean that travellers would not be able to avoid the booster shot requirement even if they could provide a negative test proving they are not infected with the Wuhan virus.
Currently, the government requires that people without two doses of a vaccine must self-isolate for ten days upon their return to Britain, as well as paying for four PCR COVID-19 tests.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned that elderly and vulnerable people should come forward “as soon as possible” to get their booster shots in order to avoid another lockdown during the Christmas season.
“We know immunity begins to wane after six months, especially for the elderly and the vulnerable, and booster vaccines will top-up their protection to keep people safe over the winter.
“I strongly urge everybody who is eligible for a COVID-19 booster or flu vaccine to take up the offer as soon as you can.
“For those not yet eligible, please help your parents, grandparents or vulnerable loved ones get their jabs – it could save their life.”
In September, the government outlined its so-called “Plan B” lockdown plan for the winter months if it is determined that the National Health Service (NHS) cannot cope with coronavirus hospitalisations.
The plan would see the introduction of domestic vaccine passports for public places such as pubs and theatres, as has already been introduced by the local devolved governments in Scotland and Wales.
The plan stipulated that only those who have proof of double vaccination would qualify for the health pass, though presumably, this would be bumped up to three shots if the government changed the definition of fully vaccinated.
So far, some ten million people in the UK have received a booster jab and seventy per cent of those over the age of 80 have done so.
Some, including Brexit leader Nigel Farage, have warned that the West is at risk of devolving into a two-tiered society. The Brexiteer said that British society faces being comprised of the “jabs” and “jabbed-nots” in which the unvaccinated become modern-day “social leppers”.
Others have welcomed the restrictions on liberties of others in exchange for their own, including Daily Telegraph columnist Angela Epstein, who said on Saturday: “I love the fact my daughter’s school is open, that I can work with real people, that I can see family living far away, that I can travel. All thanks to [the] vaccine. Those who don’t have it should stay at home in their own lockdowns or risk restrictions.”
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