Good news for Pak travelers: Britain approves Chinese vaccines

ISLAMABAD: Britain has added Chinese vaccines to its list of approved jabs for travellers, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner said, terming it "good news" for Pakistani travellers.

In an updated travel advisory, the UK said from November 22 4am, World Health Organisation’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) vaccines — Sinovac, Sinopharm Beijing, and Covaxin — will be accepted.

"Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines," the advisory said. Pakistan's vaccination certificate is being accorded recognition as well, so travellers can now easily take a trip to the country.

Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen are already on the approved list of vaccines. Furthermore, if a traveller gets an approved one-dose vaccine — the Janssen vaccine — they will be considered fully vaccinated.

According to the advisory, travellers must have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before they arrive in England. The day that a person has their final dose will not count as one of the 14 days.

Last month, the United Kingdom updated its COVID-19 travel rules and placed Pakistan on the “rest of the world” list. Pakistan was removed from the red list and was placed on the amber list on September 22 along with several other countries.

Before the British authorities approved Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Covaxin, travellers had to take a PCR test within three days prior to travelling to England. They also had to book and pay two PCR tests — on day two and eight — after arriving in England and also complete a passenger locator form.