What are France-UK travel rules after one Covid jab plus infection?
In France, a person is considered fully vaccinated if they have had one vaccine dose after having had Covid. This is not the case in the UK. We explain what that means for travel
France and the UK have different definitions of what it means to be fully vaccinated against Covid, leading to travel complications
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Reader Question: I’ve had Covid and one vaccination in France but I read that in the UK this does not count as fully vaccinated. Do I still have to quarantine in the UK?
Our reader is right in that in France, you only need one Covid vaccine dose six months after being infected in order to be considered fully vaccinated. This is not the case in the UK, where you need two doses even if you have had Covid to be fully vaccinated.
This technically means that if you have had Covid and then one vaccine dose, you will not be considered fully vaccinated and will have to quarantine on arrival in the UK if travelling from France.
The Connexion reported on this issue back in August.
Read more: Why some fully-jabbed people in France must still quarantine in the UK
Following this, the Direction Générale de la Santé, a wing of the French health ministry, told The Connexion that those who had only had one Covid dose after having been infected could get a second dose for travel reasons.
A spokeswoman said that an alert had been sent out to vaccination centres around the country to inform medical staff that this was possible.
“The single-dose vaccination scheme recognised in France (Covid recovery + one dose Pfizer or Moderna + seven days), is not recognised as complete vaccination by the UK,” she said.
“Those who still wish to receive the second dose in order to travel can do so.”
Read more:Two jabs post-Covid now possible in France for travellers to UK
The Connexion has not yet heard of any issues with this process.
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