. A new change to the rules for entering the UK could spell trouble for many Norwegians.
To the delight of many, Britain has opened up to quarantine-free entry from all over Europe, as long as it is fully vaccinated.
However, the recent change in UK laws could cause trouble. People who have received two different doses of the vaccine no longer fall under the 'fully vaccinated' category.
- If two doses have been vaccinated, it must be the same approved vaccine. For example, if the first dose was Moderna, the second dose must also be Moderna, they write on theirs website UK authorities.
The same is true for people who have received one dose of the vaccine and have had the coronavirus in the last six months. In other words, what makes you fully vaccinated in Norway leads to a quarantine obligation in England.
A critic of the rule
This is bad news for Norwegians who have planned a holiday or a football trip to London for the fall. In this country, as in many others in Europe. Cross-vaccination was used throughout the summer to vaccinate the entire population as soon as possible.
Chief physician Preben Aavitsland at the National Institute of Public Health admits that new recipes can make life easier to the British authorities. On the other hand, it is clear that there are no grounds for discrimination against cross-vaccinated people:
- From a medical point of view, the rule is wrong; this is just as good protection with the Moderna and Pfizer doses as it is with the two Pfizer doses.
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Despite the fact that the UK is tightening entry rules, it is hardly to believe that other European countries will follow in the footsteps of the British.
- I do not believe. There are common rules in the EU, emphasizes Aavitsland.
However, he says the same rule applies if you want to travel to the United States. Also there, you're only considered fully vaccinated two weeks after you've received your second dose of one type of vaccine, or after you've received a vaccine that only requires one dose, according to the CDC's website.
It is technically impossible to verify
If you will continue to travel to the UK in the next few days. It is unclear how the British authorities will enforce the rules.
Only the last dose of the vaccine can be checked under the EU's certification solution, the health authorities say.
Read our next article: The vaccine is short-lived ...
In other words, it is currently not technically possible to verify that both doses contain the same vaccine.
Photo: Peter Mydske / Stortinget
Health Minister Bent Høie (H) says in an email that they know the problem and are now in dialogue with the UK.
- Like most other European countries, Norway offers vaccinations with two different vaccines. This is recommended by the FHI. We have recently been informed that the UK requires the first dose and the second dose to be combined with the same vaccine to avoid quarantine on entry. We are in dialogue with the British authorities on this and other issues related to entry restrictions, says Høie.
