UK considers people who received placebo in vaccine trials ‘fully vaccinated’

(CMR) People who took part in COVID-19 ‘vaccine’ trials and were only given the placebo will be considered “fully vaccinated” by the UK government.

This means that these persons will receive the NHS vaccination pass and will be able to travel to countries, including the Cayman Islands, which accept persons vaccinated by the NHS system. Cayman accepts vaccinated people in the NHS  system and people vaccinated by the HSA as qualified for the reduced five-day quarantine.

This could be of concern as the vaccine developed by US-based Novavax has yet to receive emergency use authorization in the United Kingdom. Participants in trials for the drug have complained that they have been denied an approved jab due to their involvement with the clinical tests.

Novavax is said to be 89 percent effective against the virus, but it has not been approved for travel in countries outside the UK.

The UK vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told Parliament last week that he would ensure that those who are a part of the Novavax trial are not disadvantaged. He said:

“As far as the UK is concerned they will be considered fully vaccinated whether they have had the placebo or the vaccine.”

He added that they would enjoy all the privileges granted to those with the NHS COVID Pass.

Zahawi was responding to concerns from MPs who said their constituents who took part in trials were being treated as if they had refused to take the vaccine.

Labour MP Rupa Huq said her constituents were unable to travel due to not being considered fully vaccinated.

“People think that they are being punished for doing the right thing. Will the Minister rectify that?” she asked Zahawi.

Labour MP Barbara Keeley echoed Huq’s concerns and asked for a solution for the volunteers who joined the Novavax trial.

“They now find themselves not able to travel, as they cannot get a vaccine certificate, and their vaccines are not recognized in the EU,” Keeley said.

Zahawi promised that those in clinical trials, including that by Novavax, would have their status on the NHS COVID app recorded as ‘fully vaccinated’, whether they received the placebo or the vaccine.

“We are working with other countries to make sure that that is recognised, but as far as the UK is concerned, they will be considered fully vaccinated, whether they have had the placebo or the vaccine,” Zahawi stated.

More than 15,000 people in the UK took part in the Novavax phase 3 trial.