Vaccination rate in the UK seen to increase by summer season in Europe—report

Tourists from the United Kingdom may soon find themselves lining up in vaccination centers in order to travel this year hassle-free, which could increase the country’s vaccination rates. This is according to a report by The National News.

The UAE-based new website cited data from digital travel agency Skyscanner, which it revealed “that bookings for economy return travel from the UK this summer increased by 394 per cent in January 2022 compared with the previous month.”

In a survey conducted by the same agency, results revealed that 40 per cent of British travellers expressed their intent to travel abroad in 2022 for summer holidays, and some are planning on vacations outside their country by Easter or Christmas.

While the UK has loosened up its Covid travel rules in early January—and this Friday it removes all testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers and those under the age of 18, regardless of their vaccine status—the places in Europe where those bitten by the travel bug are eyeing to go to have maintained their restrictions.

British favourites Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Turkey are drawing the most attention, according to The National’s Tim Kiek.

But Spain, for example, and France both require anyone who enters the country after February 12 to have had a Covid booster if their previous vaccinations were completed more than 270 days ago. This rule is effective on February 12.

“It seems highly possible that incentivising people by telling them that they are going to have a very inconvenient time of going abroad for some vacation if they’re not vaccinated will then cause them to get vaccinated,” Tali Sharot, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, told The National.

However, though, Sharot also warned about the staunch anti-vaxxers who hold strong opinions about getting vaccinated.

“There are people who are not just hesitant to get the vaccine but have very strong opinions about this,” she said. “And it’s part of their identity, this whole idea that maybe vaccines are just not working, or there’s some kind of conspiracy… simple inconvenience is not going to be strong enough to change their actions.”