Boris Johnson has been urged to cap the costs of private PCR tests needed for some international travel to prevent overseas holidays from becoming a luxury only the wealthiest families can afford.
Analysis of the list of approved tests on the government website by the Liberal Democrats shows just 11 percent of the providers offered tests for under £50, with the cheapest offering prices ranging from £20.
Some 24 percent of the providers were charging more than £200.
Health secretary Sajid Javid yesterday asked the competition watchdog Competition and Markets Authority to conduct a “rapid high-level review of the market for PCR travel tests” to enable to government to act before the summer holiday season ends.
Meanwhile, A YouGov poll commissioned by The Times found that almost seven in ten people, 67 percent, backed offering the vaccine to children aged 12 to 15. Only 13 percent opposed, with 20 per cent undecided.
Last week, Dr Deepti Gurdasani, epidemiologist at Queen Mary University London said it would not be “possible to get herd immunity without vaccinating younger children.”
