Travel agents have began getting enquiries from Indians who want to travel to the UK as quickly as doable to get the COVID-19 vaccine that was authorized on Wednesday by the British government.
One travel agent is organizing to launch a 3-evening package for the Indians who want to get the advantage of the mass vaccination drive in the UK that is probably to start as early as subsequent week.
The UK on Wednesday became the 1st nation to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 immediately after “rigorous” evaluation by its independent regulator Medicines and Healthcare goods Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
A Mumbai-primarily based travel agent told the PTI that some individuals on Wednesday raised queries on “how and when and if” they can travel to the UK to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I have told them it is too early to say (whether Indians can get vaccine in UK). Anyway, the first in line to the get the vaccine would be the elderly and health workers in the UK who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus,” the agent added.
Nishant Pitti, Co-founder and CEO, EaseMyTrip.com mentioned though this is an offbeat season for travel to London, immediately after Wednesday’s announcement about the Pfizer vaccine he has currently received queries from some Indians who have got UK visas and can afford to go to London.
He mentioned his organization was waiting for clarity from the UK government on whether or not there would be compulsory quarantine specifications for travellers who want to get vaccinated and whether or not Indian passport holders are eligible for vaccination there or not.
Pitti mentioned his organization is organizing to launch a 3-evening package for these interested in travelling to the UK for the objective of vaccination only.
“We are dealing with an airline to offer fixed price seats. We already have deals with London hotels. And we are planning to do some deal with a hospital over there so that we can generate a package for that,” he explained.
The current UK government guidelines state that from December 15, every single international arrival in the UK would have to stay in self isolation for 5 days and then get the RT-PCR test accomplished on the sixth day. The passenger can leave isolation on the sixth day if identified COVID-adverse in the test.
On Wednesday, a Bengaluru-primarily based travel organization mentioned Indians are asking if a quick trip, without the need of quarantine, to the UK to get the Pfizer vaccine was doable.
However, Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) told PTI that individuals are ideal now “waiting and watching” as they want to know what the vaccine is going to be like.
“Though the government has said there would be no side effects of the vaccine, people want to watch all this before getting the shot,” Mayal noted.