KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine recipients entering the UK are now considered fully vaccinated by the country.
He was referring to a statement on the UK government website www.gov.uk which said the UK government will recognise World Health Organisation emergency-use listing (WHO EUL) vaccines such as Sinovac, Sinopharm and Covaxin for entry from Nov 22.
Vaccines from WHO EUL will now be added to the country's list for inbound travel, alongside vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Janssen (J&J), which have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) earlier.
“Sinovac recipients [are] now considered fully vaccinated by the UK. Now exempt from quarantine,” Khairy tweeted on Tuesday.
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Following the announcement, this will benefit more fully vaccinated people from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and India, according to the website.
The website stated that passengers who are fully vaccinated and have received their vaccination certificates from one of more than 135 approved countries and territories, including Malaysia, do not have to take a pre-departure test, day 8 test, or self-isolation upon arrival.
Instead, passengers only have to pay for a lateral flow test, which they can take before the end of their second day after arrival.
“This comes as the government simplifies for all under-18s coming to England who will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border and will be exempt from self-isolation requirements on arrival, day 8 testing and pre-departure testing. They will only be required to take one post-arrival test and a confirmatory free PCR test if they test positive,” the website added.