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Return of holidays abroad for people who are fully vaccinated

Return of holidays abroad for people who are fully vaccinated
By Charles Hymas, Home Affairs Editor
16 June 2021 • 11:30pm

Double-jabbed tourists could be allowed to travel to amber list countries without quarantining under new government plans

Summer holidays abroad will be opened up for vaccinated Britons under plans being considered by the Government, The Telegraph understands.

Officials are drawing up proposals that could allow people who have had both Covid jabs to avoid having to quarantine on their return from amber list countries although they will still have to be tested.

The change would effectively turn amber countries green for the vaccinated, opening up the possibility of quarantine-free travel to most major holiday destinations in Europe and the US.

The proposals to ease the restrictions for vaccinated people are said to be at an early stage. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, who has fought for tough border restrictions, is said to be "open" to the change.

"They haven't definitely got there yet, but that's the direction of travel," a senior source told The Telegraph.

It came as Boris Johnson was attacked by Tory MPs in the Commons on Wednesday over his failure to end Covid restrictions as expected on June 21.

On Wednesday evening, 49 Tory MPs rebelled against the Prime Minister to vote against delaying the final lifting of lockdown. Despite the rebellion, the Government won by 461 votes to 60.

A leaked memo also suggested officials were planning to keep the work from home instruction beyond the new July 19 date for the ending of restrictions.

The plans are expected to be ready to be discussed by the Cabinet Covid operations committee within the next fortnight, potentially in advance of a June 28 deadline when ministers have pledged to review the current traffic light system for testing and quarantining travellers.

Officials are still working on whether any new regime would be limited to returning Britons or apply to all arrivals, what exemptions there could be for those who could not be vaccinated and whether children under 18 should be exempted given that they will not have been jabbed by July 19.

"It is still at an early stage and it is not clear whether it will be worked out in time for the end of the month. There is an awful lot to do. The devil is in the detail," said a source.

A government spokesman said: "Recognising the strong strategic rationale and success of the vaccine programme, we have commenced work to consider the role of vaccinations in shaping a different set of health and testing measures for inbound travel."

Changes to the current travel regime have been urged by Tory MPs and travel chiefs who fear the UK could lose out to Europe economically as it lifts restrictions for vaccinated travellers. On Wednesday, the EU added the US and Hong Kong, key trading partners, to its "white list" for jabbed visitors to avoid tests or quarantine.

Henry Smith, the Tory chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation group, said Britain would be an "outlier" if it did not adopt the same approach to vaccinated travellers as most other countries.

At least 33 countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Greece, exempt vaccinated passengers from quarantine.

"If we don't do it, we will be at a significant disadvantage to our international competitors. Public health paranoia will have trumped common sense if we don't go down that route," Mr Smith said.

Under the traffic light system, there are just 11 countries on the UK's green list – of which Iceland, Gibraltar and Israel are the only viable holiday destinations.

Anyone travelling to them is exempt from quarantine but has to have a pre-departure test followed by a PCR test on return to the UK to enable health officials to detect any variants.

As well as 10 days of quarantine, any traveller returning from an amber country currently has to have a pre-departure test, then PCR tests on days two and eight of self-isolation, with the option of a test to release on day five.

There is no date set for any change in the restrictions, although Boris Johnson has pledged to offer vaccines to all those over 18 by July 19. This would mean that by then no adult could face discrimination going abroad by not being vaccinated and having to continue to quarantine on their return.

It follows research by Public Health England (PHE), cited by the Prime Minister, which found the Pfizer vaccine was 96 per cent effective against hospitalisation with the delta Covid variant after two doses and the AstraZeneca jab 92 per cent effective.

Tony Blair, the former prime minister and an early proponent of vaccine passports, told The Telegraph on Wednesday that the Government should "bite the bullet" and introduce passports for domestic and international travel.

He said current government policy "literally makes no sense at all" in terms of the practicalities of travelling, the race to achieve herd immunity or day-to-day risk management of Covid infections.

Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of Airlines UK, said: "The welcome news from PHE that vaccines are highly effective against the delta variant following a full dose is further evidence that fully vaccinated passengers can safely be exempted from quarantine and testing restrictions from green and amber countries.

"This is already happening in Europe and across the world, and with two-thirds of UK adults expected to be fully jabbed by July 19, there is no reason why such a move cannot happen now to save the summer season and enable people to get away with their loved ones.

"This would be proportionate and data-driven and entirely consistent with the Government's approach of using our vaccine dividend to safely unlock society and get the economy moving again."

Karen Dee, the chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: "The UK should follow the example of the US and the EU, who are reducing restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, and give Britons their vaccine dividend."

John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: "The Government is confident that vaccinations are effective – so surely people who have been fully vaccinated should be able to travel without the need to quarantine or take expensive tests.

"The freedom of travel will not only incentivise people in this country to get vaccinated, it will also show other countries the benefits of scaling up their vaccination programmes."

On Wednesday, Mr Hancock told MPs that he backed a system of testing as a potential alternative to self-isolation for people who may have come into contact with Covid.
 
So about 60 fuckwits in parliament voted agains the delay. I havent looked for a list of names yet but I think its fairly safe to presume Philip Davies is one of them.



That wasn't the most insane of the lot during that debate. I'd strongly advise against digging too deep into some of the MP's speeches. It was like some fantasy reality that they had created for themselves.

The conclusion I came to is that MP's are no more immune to crackpot conspiracy than anyone else. It was just a different type of conspiracy to your 5g Bill Gates loons.
 
Imperial REACT-1 round 12 study findings (20 May to 7 June) suggest 0.15% of people had the virus (during the period under study). That's about twice the current 7-day rolling rate (and 4-5 times that reported, via national testing, during the study period). For context, that's over 7 times the limit set for foreign travel last summer. Infection rates were highest in under 24s.
...in the most recent testing round, the reproduction number (R) is 1.44.

Most infections are happening in children and young adults, but they are rising in older people too, increasing at a similar rate in the over 50s and the under 50s.

The study found that the link between infections, hospitalisations and deaths had been weakening since February, suggesting infections were leading to fewer hospital admissions and deaths due to the vaccination programme. But since late April, the trend has been reversing for hospitalisations.
Preprint here. Next round of sampling runs from 26 June till 12 July, due to report around 22 July.
 
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I havent read this weeks surveillance report properly yet, but it includes some data on reinfections for the first time:

This week, data on SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in England are being reported for the first time. 15,893 possible reinfections have been identified, of which 53 have been confirmed by identification of genetically distinct specimens from each illness episode.

Screenshot 2021-06-17 at 15.46.jpg

 
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Some of Scotland's biggest universities did not reduce the capacity of their student halls despite the need for physical distancing, the BBC has found.

A Disclosure investigation found many student halls were 100% full despite the risks of spreading Covid.

It also found that guidance on offering remote teaching was changed at the last minute, pressuring students to attend.

Prof Stephen Reicher, who advises both UK and Scottish governments, said it was an "accident waiting to happen".

 
I'm not really sure why this is a surprise. Landlords/ accommodation providers are hardly going to half fill blocks if there is demand. I was in student accommodation last summer. The idea was one flat was a bubble and you weren't allowed into anyone else's. Of course in reality that's not what happens.
 
Big jump today, 11,007 new cases. :bigeyes:

Hospital admissions up to 13th June, up 43% on the pervious 7-day period.
Well this is a bit shit, isn't it? It does seem like an almost deliberate attempt at vaccine-resistant variant breeding; never mind the Wuhan lab...(I don't really think it's deliberate as such, but yeah 'careless' sounds about right...)

Not quite sure what to make of it all anymore. Is this going to end well..?

Now that I'm fully vaccinated (had second jab two weeks ago) I feel less concerned about my personal health, covid-wise, but I am beginning to find these case numbers quite stressful again, mainly due to the uncertainty they bring.
Just something as (formerly) simple and (now) utterly amazing as visiting my friend in Bristol this weekend for the first time in ages, is a bit overshadowed by worries.
Such as what if I suddenly come down with something while I'm at hers - am I supposed to invite myself to stay for 10 days of self-isolation or take the train home...? (I don't drive)
Such high cases just bring so much inconvenience and shitness for everyone having to self-isolate or quarantine as contacts (let alone the people who are still getting seriously ill!), I don't get how it's desirable. :(
 
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cases_2021-06-12 (2).png

That single purple MSOA is the uni campus area.

Coldean & Moulsecoomb NorthMSOA
Seven days to 12 June 2021​

Total cases​

47
The rate has increased relative to the previous week.
41 (683.3%)

Case rate per 100,000 people​

401.4


Also - it still really irritates me that the age demographics on the daily summary are split into neat 5 year groups.
It might be visually easier to look at but it also, conveniently, doesn't get close to demonstrating the individual spread within pre-school, nursery, infants & juniors, secondary yrs 7-11 & sixth form, or uni years. Was all very well while they were pretending children weren't at risk/wouldn't spread it but that was, unsurprisingly, proved wrong a long time ago.
There remains a POINT in that though, I know, I know... :rolleyes: :mad:
 
I havent read this weeks surveillance report properly yet, but it includes some data on reinfections for the first time:



View attachment 273951

what the hell is going on there with women so much more likely to get a second infection ? Is it social (public -facing jobs & childcare related stuff) - or else what?
this i mean
Screenshot 2021-06-17 at 19.36.46.png
 
what the hell is going on there with women so much more likely to get a second infection ? Is it social (public -facing jobs & childcare related stuff) - or else what?
this i mean
View attachment 273988
40-59 most likely to have teenage children? It seems to be largely spreading through high schools ATM. Plus what you said about jobs.
 
have women just had more covid the whole time?
don't think i've ever seen infections broken down by sex tbh, only know that men seem to get worse outcomes from severe symptoms.

Not any kind of an answer but I read this the other day re women and long covid and there are some bits that might be relevant, although equally, that may show something completely opposite - but just linking to it cos I thought it was interesting and you have reminded me to.

 
Well this is a bit shit, isn't it? It does seem like an almost deliberate attempt at vaccine-resistant variant breeding; never mind the Wuhan lab...(I don't really think it's deliberate as such, but yeah 'careless' sounds about right...)

Not quite sure what to make of it all anymore. Is this going to end well..?

Now that I'm fully vaccinated (had second jab two weeks ago) I feel less concerned about my personal health, covid-wise, but I am beginning to find these case numbers quite stressful again, mainly due to the uncertainty they bring.
Just something as (formerly) simple and (now) utterly amazing as visiting my friend in Bristol this weekend for the first time in ages, is a bit overshadowed by worries.
Such as what if I suddenly come down with something while I'm at hers - am I supposed to invite myself to stay for 10 days of self-isolation or take the train home...? (I don't drive)
Such high cases just bring so much inconvenience and shitness for everyone having to self-isolate or quarantine as contacts (let alone the people who are still getting seriously ill!), I don't get how it's desirable. :(

I am still a bit unsettled because of having had AZ, specifically.
I do get that less time has passed to assess the effectiveness (?) of it but with the current known levels of protection a way below Pfizer etc after two doses, and working in a school, I can't say I wouldn't have preferred to have the Pfizer jab, for eg.
I am not remotely an anti-vaxxer but I do feel like the (currently) lower AZ efficacy is kind of... not spoken about much :hmm: and on a personal level, I definitely don't feel protected enough to imagine there's not much for me to worry about currently (60% for Delta/66% for Alpha with AZ, two weeks after second dose, as opposed to 88% and 93% for Pfizer, iirc).
Remembering that Pfizer did start earlier though - but of course that unknown will also have a huge impact on what happens next, too.
 
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I am still a bit unsettled because of having had AZ, specifically.
I do get that less time has passed to assess the effectiveness (?) of it but with the current known levels of protection a way below Pfizer etc after two doses, and working in a school, I can't say I wouldn't have preferred to have the Pfizer jab, for eg.
I am not remotely an anti-vaxxer but I do feel like the (currently) lower AZ efficiency is kind of... not spoken about much :hmm: and on a personal level, I definitely don't feel protected enough to imagine there's not much for me to worry about currently (60% for Delta/66% for Alpha with AZ, two weeks after second dose, as opposed to 88% and 93% for Pfizer, iirc).
Remembering that Pfizer did start earlier though - but of course that unknown will also have a huge impact on what happens next, too.

just remember that almost all of these % quoted are for symptomatic disease. And on average you get less symptoms if jabbed.

For all of the vaccines the chance of icu/death is almost zero after double jabs.
 
just remember that almost all of these % quoted are for symptomatic disease. And on average you get less symptoms if jabbed.

For all of the vaccines the chance of icu/death is almost zero after double jabs.

Yes, I really don't mean that I am walking around afraid every day - I couldn't go to work if I was!
It is just something that is in my mind and tbh, any anxiety I have felt - all the way through - has always mostly been down to the possibility of me spreading it. Working in a school and having daily contact with hundreds of kids, the worry has always been around that and I don't feel significantly more secure in that respect, if that makes sense.
 
18+ year olds can now book via the nhs site. It still says 21 but they’ve changed the backend before the text. Pass it on to anyone for whom it will be useful!
My 19 year old was actually here in this house when you posted this but I have only just read it and she has gone, however like most teenagers her mobile is virtually an extension of her so I have let her know.
 
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