Jab intervals 'to be slashed to just six weeks so youngsters can enjoy foreign holidays'

A more flexible stance means that young people are now being allowed to have their second vaccination after only six weeks so that they can go abroad this summer, it is reported last night

Vaccination centres are being encouraged to be less strict and shorten the waiting period between doses to get more young people jabbed, a minister told The Mail on Sunday.

It is seen by ministers that the incentive of foreign holidays this summer is a good method to encourage youngsters to be jabbed.

Currently anyone with two doses will not have to quarantine when they return to the UK from amber European countries.

Vaccination centres appear to be taking on the advice to be more flexible with one pharmacy putting up a notice saying that anyone who had their first jab at the end of June could come down for their second.

Anyone returning to the UK from amber countries and has two doses currently doesn't need to quarantine (AFP via Getty Images)

Some centres have said they are willing to give a second dose after six weeks if a person has a doctor’s consent.

The minister told the Mail: “GPs will bend over backwards for young people to get the jab. So if an 18-year-old comes and says, I booked a holiday to France, I won’t have the same experience if I’m not double-jabbed, they will try and help them out.”

There does appear though to be a lack of consistency with some centres have a stricter policy.

It comes as almost 50million people in the UK have had their first vaccine dose while 39million have had both.

The impact of the vaccines appears to be seen with Covid cases falling this week and hospital admissions were down 15.9 percent on the previous seven days, while 104 people died.

The government reportedly believes that jabs which will allow people to go on holiday is the best way to encourage young people to be vaccinated (Getty Images)

The cost of PCR tests is another factor which has put people off travelling abroad and Health Secretary Sajid Javid is concerned about the price.

He wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority saying: “For too many people the cost of PCR testing can act as a barrier, especially for families who want to travel together.

"We have all experienced enormous disruption to our lives over this pandemic but it is not right if some families experience yet further disruption unnecessarily because of potentially unfair practices in the market for private travel tests."