12 to 15-year-olds can now use NHS Covid Pass for foreign travel
Will 12-year-olds need jabs to go on holiday? Javid says Covid travel passes are being extended to under-16s
- Sajid Javid announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to access NHS Covid Pass
- Said this will ‘allow even more people’ to prove vaccine status for foreign travel
- Came as Mr Javid said there are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK
Sajid Javid has announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to access the NHS Covid Pass to prove their vaccination status for international travel.
The Health Secretary said that the pass will be available to children between those ages from today.
Mr Javid said this will allow ‘even more people to be able to prove their vaccine status where it is needed’.
Tory former health minister Steve Brine said it was ‘such a welcome announcement’ because it would make some international travel smoother for families.
But the announcement is likely to spark concerns that showing the pass could eventually be extended to make it a requirement for children when they leave and re-enter the country.
Sajid Javid today announced 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to access the NHS Covid Pass to prove their vaccination status for international travel
The Health Secretary said that the pass will be available to children between those ages from today
Mr Javid told the House of Commons this afternoon: ‘From today I can confirm that the NHS Covid Pass is being rolled out to 12 to 15 year-olds for international travel, allowing even more people to be able to prove their vaccine status where it is needed.’
Mr Brine asked Mr Javid: ‘Can I ask him about the NHS Covid Pass being rolled out to 12 to 15-year-olds which is such a welcome announcement and something that the Secretary of State promised this House that he would bring back and I thank him for that.
‘How exactly will that work? Many of my constituents will be travelling within the next few days, certainly within the next week over Christmas.
‘How exactly will they be able to access this pass given that they cannot access the NHS app the same way as adults can?’
Mr Javid replied: ‘He is right that around the Covid Pass it is a very important issue.
‘We will be publishing shortly on the website exactly how that will work but it is being rolled out as a digital pass in the same way it is working for adults starting today.’
The announcement is likely to spark concerns that showing the pass could eventually be extended to make it a requirement for children when they leave and re-enter the country
All children in the UK who are aged between 12 and 15 have been offered a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
The announcement came as Mr Javid said there are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK.
He told MPs: ‘And the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current rate of, the current number of daily infections are around 200,000.
‘While Omicron represents over 20 per cent of cases in England, we’ve already seen it rise to over 44 per cent in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid 19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.’
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