Letters will be sent to clinical trial volunteers in England offering them two doses of the Pfizer jab at eight-week intervals
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Thousands of Brits who took part in Covid vaccine trials will be offered further doses to make it easier for them to travel abroad.
Some 15,000 people took part in trials of the Novavax vaccine, which is not recognised in the majority of other countries as it has not been approved by the UK medical regulator.
Brits who received this jab are considered to be fully vaccinated in the UK but they are not recognised as double-jabbed abroad.
Letters will be sent to clinical trial volunteers in England offering them two doses of the Pfizer jab at eight-week intervals, the Government has announced.
Additional doses will be offered to Novavax volunteers first, with offers extended to people taking part in other trials in the coming weeks.
Around 52,000 people are currently taking part in vaccine trials across the UK, with 21,000 given a vaccine not yet approved for deployment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Around 15,000 of these are taking part in the Novavax clinical trial, which has not yet submitted data to the MHRA to get the jab approved.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said: “COVID-19 vaccine trials have been absolutely integral to our response to the virus, and as a result we now have our renowned vaccination programme, which continues to save lives. I urge as many people as possible to continue contributing to these trials.
“The measures we have taken will allow UK COVID-19 vaccine trial participants to travel freely overseas once they have had the additional vaccinations. Those volunteers now have the flexibility to make a decision for themselves so they can, for example, visit loved ones abroad.
“We should be very clear that the results from these trials benefit the whole world, and it has to be said that if more countries around the world had reciprocated by allowing UK volunteers to enjoy fully vaccinated status for overseas travel, these measures would not have been necessary.
“As a separate issue, those in trials who are eligible for boosters should receive the booster dose in order to ensure the highest possible protection over winter.”
No evidence exists to date on administering four doses of different vaccines, although experts do not expect significant issues.
However, there is evidence that mixing three doses of different vaccines is safe, as set out in the COV-Boost vaccine trial.
If people from the Novavax study are eligible for the Pfizer Covid booster jab currently being rolled out across the UK, the booster dose can count as the first of the two doses that are needed for travel.
The change only applies in England at present but the devolved nations are expected to follow suit.
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