No definite plan for children when border rules change

Saturday 12 June 2021

Children under the age of 16 will potentially fall under the vaccination status of their parents when travelling from 1 July, however the details are still being thrashed out.

The effects of new rules at the start of July remain uncertain for the younger generation, as the Civil Contingencies Authority figures out travel rules for people under the age of 16.

Following the news that people who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to travel freely within the CTA, questions arose as to what this means for any under-16's travelling with them. 

The traffic light system has been indefinitely delayed due to the ‘Delta Variant’ of the corona virus becoming more widespread in the UK, with concerns that it’s more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. 

However, a 'blue' category will be introduced for those who are at least two weeks past their second vaccination.

“Our current plan is that we’re looking at children carrying the vaccination status of their parents,” said the Director of Public Health, Dr Nicola Brink.

Pictured: Vaccination status has become all important when it comes to travel requirements. 

How this will work in practice remains to be seen, with the CCA yet to provide answers. 

“There will be a caveat that we’ll do some additional testing, we’re working on the finer details of that,” said Dr Brink. “We’ll be producing more details on that later.”

The question of whether or not people under the age of 16 should be vaccinated has been raised numerous times, with the CCA waiting on a decision from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

“It’s an area that’s being looked at by the JCVI and we’re expecting a release imminently,” said Dr Brink, who indicated that Guernsey will simply follow the advice that is issued.