Children aged from 12 to 15 years now have access to a NHS COVID Pass letter to facilitate travel to international destinations such as Murcia.
From 13 December, this allows children who have had both doses of an approved vaccine to travel to countries including Spain, which now require 12 to 15-year-olds to be fully vaccinated in order to gain entry, avoid isolation, or (in some regions) access venues or services.
According to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s travel advice website, “Proof of vaccination will initially be provided via a letter service including an internationally recognised 2D barcode, with a digital solution via NHS.UK to be rolled out early next year.”
The service can be accessed by calling 119 or via NHS.UK, and it can take up to seven days to receive the COVID Pass letter. Children will remain exempt from domestic certification policy in England and will not require an NHS COVID Pass to gain entry to venues.
“From today,” said health and social care secretary Sajid Javid, “I can confirm 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 vaccination status for travel where it’s needed.
“The move will enable families to plan holidays in 2022 with greater confidence, as parents can be reassured they will be able to evidence their child’s vaccination status once they have had both doses of the vaccine.”
High Vaccination Rate in Spain
Meanwhile, Spain has now started vaccinating children aged from 5 to 11 years. According to the government, a total of 3.3 million children in this age group are eligible for COVID-19 protection. “The Public Health Commission has decided that the second dose should be administered after eight weeks, in order to contribute to increasing the immune response and to ensure all children between five and 11 years of age are vaccinated in a short period of time with at least one dose.”
In total, more than 76 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Spain and almost 90 per cent of the target population (over 12 years of age) has been fully vaccinated. In addition, more than five million booster doses have been administered to people over 60 years old or to those vaccinated with Janssen.