Brits who have had two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will not be turned away at the Maltese border, the transport secretary has said.
Grant Shapps announced today that Malta has amended its travel advice to allow British tourists with two AstraZeneca vaccine doses - regardless of where they have been manufactured - to enter the country.
It comes after reports that Malta was refusing to accept UK travellers vaccinated with an India-made batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The problem centred on vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India, known as Covishield.
Despite the jab being the same as other AstraZeneca vaccines, it has not been authorised by Europe’s regulator and is therefore not recognised by the EU.
Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast: “The (UK) medicines agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, have been very clear that it doesn’t matter whether the AstraZeneca you have is made here or the Serum Institute in India.
“It is absolutely the same product, it provides exactly the same levels of protection from the virus.”
Mr Shapps had said the government would confront Malta this morning after reports people vaccinated with the Indian-made jab were being turned away at the airport.
Reports in the Telegraph claimed that one couple – Steve, 64, and Glenda Hardy, 63, from Hull, – were barred from a flight from Manchester to Malta because they had had the Indian-made jab.
Malta's borders are currently only open to fully vaccinated travellers.
This afternoon, Mr Shapps claimed the issue had been resolved.
He tweeted: "The Maltese authorities have amended their travel advice so anyone who has an OXFORD AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK (regardless of manufacture location) is able to travel without being turned away - with all vaccines having gone through rigorous safety and quality checks."
Up to five million doses of the Indian-made vaccine have been administered across the UK.
Downing Street has confirmed that it does not expect any further passengers to be turned away from flights following the amendment.
Boris Johnson's official spokesman said: “It is important to be clear to the public that this is not an ongoing incident, this is an incident which happened last week.
“The Maltese authorities have since amended their travel advice, so we would not expect this to happen again.”
Asked whether that meant no further passengers would be barred from boarding flights due to the Indian-made vaccine issue, the No 10 spokesman said: “Yes, in line with the current rules, all AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and have been subject to the same rigorous safety and quality checks.
“The European Medicines Agency, as well as our own medicines regulator, has authorised this vaccine, so travel should not be affected.”
