A plush £25,000-a-year private club is flying members to India and the UAE to receive a Covid vaccination instead of waiting for their turn in the UK.
London-based Knightsbridge Circle says it has been flying over-65s to Dubai for jabs for the past two weeks, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is now available in India.
For a fee, reportedly around £40,000, wealthy jetsetters get first class flights, accommodation in a luxury apartment and the lifesaving jabs.
Founder Stuart McNeill said he was excited to launch a "luxury travel vaccine programme" for clients around the world.
He told The Telegraph : "You go for a few weeks to a villa in the sunshine, get your jabs and your certificate and you’re ready to go.”
Mr McNeill said people are "desperate" for the vaccine, saying: "They land, have their first jab and wait for the second one.
"We’ve got some people that are going to India for the whole time and others are talking about flying in, having the first jab, flying out to Madagascar, and then coming back for the second jab later.”
He said no one under 65 has been vaccinated, with the club stating it has a "moral responsibility" to prioritise those who "really need it".
Some members have used the service to ensure their parents and grandparents receive a jab, the company boss said.
From today, Knightsbridge Circle was able to start offering vaccines in India, after the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was approved and rolled out.
Mr McNeill says that if vaccines are allowed for private surgeries, he hopes to be able to give jabs for members from a clinic in central London.
The Mirror has contacted Knightsbridge Circle for a comment.
