UK holidaymakers that have been given an Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca Covid jab will now be able to travel into Malta, the UK Transport Secretary has said.
The UK Government said that Maltese officials have made a U-turn on its policy to reject those who have had the Covishield jab.
It was reported that an elderly couple from Hull had been refused from taking a flight to country after it had emerged that they had received the vaccine earlier in the year.
Around five million Brits are said to have been given the jab under the AstraZeneca banner. The version of the vaccine is produced by the Serum Institute of India and has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Writing on Twitter, Tory Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The Maltese authorities have amended their travel advice so anyone who had 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.”
Steve and Glenda Hardy were refused entry into Malta on Friday after checks revealed they had been administered the Covishield vaccine.
The couple, who hoped to see their son for the first time in a more than a year, were stunned when Tui staff informed them that they could not board the flight.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mrs Hardy said: “We haven’t seen our son since he moved there a year ago.
“We had our flights refunded by Tui, but that’s by-the-by. Our big fear is that we just don’t know when we’ll be able to go to Malta.”
The Scottish Government said last week that all AstraZeneca vaccines administered in Scotland have been produced in Europe and the UK under the Vaxzevria name - which has been approved by the EMA and is accepted as part of the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate scheme.
A spokesperson said: “People should check the entry requirements for the country they are visiting before travelling.
“All AstraZeneca vaccines given in Scotland appear on the record of vaccination as Vaxzevria - EU/1/21/1529.
“A number of EU countries have already indicated they are happy to accept Scotland’s record of vaccination where they want evidence that people have been fully vaccinated as a condition of entry.
“We are not aware of any EU countries refusing to accept this statement."
Malta was one of the countries added to Scotland’s green list on international travel at the end of June.
Scots do not have to quarantine on their arrival back to Scotland, but must take a test two days afterwards.
A decision on any changes to the Scottish Government’s traffic light system is expected to be made this week.
