FAMILIES are being forced to cancel their holidays because of “restrictive” Covid-19 passport rules for kids.
As it stands, children aged 12 to 16 who have two doses of the jab cannot use the NHS app – meaning they cannot get the Covid-19 pass for travel digitally.
Parents instead have to call up the NHS 119 helpline or go online to request an under-16 NHS Covid Pass letter for kids to enter countries including Spain, Italy and France without any quarantine or self-testing rules on landing.
But some under 16s are still not eligible for their second jabs due to recent infections – and there is no way to prove the first one was ever administered.
In countries such as France, a person is considered fully jabbed if they have had one vaccine and have previously had Covid-19.
Parents have been left “pulling their hair out” trying to find a way to prove their under-16s are protected – as MPs blast the rules for “effectively grounding” youngsters who abide by them, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Dad-of-two Andy O’Brien hoped to take his kids to France to ski over the February half term.
His 14-year-old daughter’s first Covid jab was pushed back to January 1 after she caught Covid in October.
Despite her having both a previous infection and a jab – meaning she was considered fully jabbed under French guidelines – Andy was forced to cancel the trip.
He was left “pulling his hair out” trying to prove her jab status and her previous infection.
He added: “Every angle I’ve tried to take, [they] have said you can’t have a certificate for one vaccine or you can’t have a QR code because you’re not deemed as fully vaccinated.”
He said the UK isn’t giving the right proof, adding: “I don’t understand why the Government has forgotten about this, or not even bothered with it.
“I don’t understand why it’s so restrictive for someone over 12.”
Boris Johnson said it should be “as simple as possible” for kids under 16 to go abroad.
He this week confirmed Health Secretary Sajid Javid would be making a statement “in the next few days” on how the issue would be resolved.
A digital pass to allow 12 to 15-year-olds to travel was due to be rolled out in early 2022.
