The United Kingdom updated its entry restrictions on August 12 to reflect that travellers who have received two-dose vaccinations will no longer be recognised as fully vaccinated if the two doses are of different types.
“If you were vaccinated in 2 doses it must be with the same (MHRA, EMA, Swissmedic or FDA) approved vaccine. For example, if your first dose was Moderna your second dose must also be Moderna,” warns the UK Government website. “If you had an approved 1 dose vaccine, such as Janssen, you are fully vaccinated.”
Travellers with mixed doses will therefore have to self-isolate in the UK for 10 days, as well as pay for testing on days two and eight of their isolation.
Fortunately, at the same time, the UK government reduced the cost of NHS Test and Trace COVID-19 PCR tests for international arrivals on August 14. After being cut from £210 (R4 300) to £170 (R3 500) in May, the cost of two tests (taken on days two and eight) is now further reduced to £136 (R2 800). The price of one PCR test is reduced from £88 (R1 800) to £68 (R1 400).
