Families have been forced to cancel half-term holidays because of “restrictive” vaccine passport demands.
Children aged 12-15 who are fully vaccinated are unable to use the NHS App, and therefore cannot access their vaccination record.
Countries including France, Italy and Spain require over-12s to be double vaccinated or face additional restrictions compared to their vaccinated parents, such as quarantine or daily testing.
Families can request a NHS Covid Pass letter for double jabbed under-16s, from the NHS 119 helpline or online, which contains a QR code that can be used for travel.
But children who have had one dose and are not yet eligible for their second, for example because they have had a recent Covid infection, have been left in limbo and are “effectively grounded” from travel, families and MPs have said.
Steve Brine, the Conservative MP for Winchester & Chandler’s Ford, raised the issue in the Commons this week and called on the Government to “urgently find a way” for teenagers to be treated with “fairness and parity”.
“The Prime Minister knows our young people have missed out on so much, and now they face punishment for doing the right thing when it comes to travel,” he said, and added that the letter process is “cumbersome”.
Boris Johnson agreed with the MP it should be “as simple as possible for young people” and said that the Health Secretary would be making a statement “in the next few days” on the issue. A “digital solution” to the Covid pass for 12 to 15-year-olds was due to be rolled out at the beginning of this year.
The Telegraph has spoken to families who have been forced to cancel their holidays, or are on the brink of doing so, after spending weeks trying to secure proof of their children’s vaccination status.
Andy O’Brien, from East Sussex, had booked a ski holiday to France with his wife and two children for the February half-term, which would have been their first trip away in two years.
But they’ve been forced to cancel the holiday after Mr O’Brien was “pulling his hair out” trying to get documents proving his 14-year-old daughter’s vaccination status.
After contracting Covid in October, his daughter’s first dose was delayed until Jan 6 and he has spent two weeks since trying to get a copy of her vaccination status and proof of the prior infection.
