UK will now accept NADRA-issued COVID-19 vaccine certificates from Pakistani travellers
October 03, 2021
- Britain's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, has confirmed the news.
- NADRA's certificate was previously not accepted in Britain.
- Chinese vaccines are still not recognised by the United Kingdom.
Pakistanis travelling to the United Kingdom will now be able to carry certificates issued by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) as proof of vaccination, Geo News reported Sunday.
Per the report, Britain's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, has confirmed the news. Previously, the NADRA-issued vaccination certificate was not acceptable in Britain.
Turner also admitted that the United Kingdom's decision to place Pakistan on the red list was "highly disappointing" because the move had disrupted contact between the citizens of the two countries. The move, according to Turner, adversely affected a lot of people.
Pakistan was removed from the red list and was placed on the amber list on September 22 along with several other countries.
It should be noted Chinese vaccines are still not recognised in the United Kingdom.
What vaccines are acceptable in the UK?
Fully vaccinated Pakistanis with one of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorised vaccines — including Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford AstraZeneca or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) — are permitted to enter the UK and exempted from quarantine and testing under the rules.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK authority responsible for assessing the safety, quality and efficacy of vaccines. It has approved the same vaccines.
China's Sinopharm and Sinovac are approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) but these are not approved by the UK government and are not part of the UK approved list of five vaccines.
The UK government says it will also recognise travellers as fully vaccinated if they were jabbed in another 17 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and Canada.
