Brit holidays to Europe ‘could be delayed for MONTHS thanks to EU’s shambolic vaccine rollout’
BRITS face an anxious MONTHS-long wait to find out whether they'll be able to go on holiday to Europe this summer.
Angela Merkel dismissed any prospects of the EU swiftly opening up its borders as talks on vaccine passports stalled today.
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The German Chancellor suggested lockdowns and travel restrictions must stay in place until more people have been jabbed than not.
And she warned the bloc's slow rollout means it will be "a few months" before widespread immunity is achieved.
It comes as France and Germany were bracing for further Covid lockdowns just as Britain was looking to ease its restrictions.
And a German virologist revealed the country was sitting on a whopping 1.2 million Oxford jabs - after EU leaders repeatedly made baseless allegations about its efficacy.
Just four per cent of the German population has been immunised, compared to England's 27.4 per cent, according to the BBC.
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Plans for vaccine certificates to reopen tourism are also moving slowly due to bitter infighting among European countries over their use.
Some eurocrats have hinted restrictions on non-essential travel that affect Brits won't be dropped until 70% of European adults are jabbed.
Asked if we'll be able to holiday on the continent this summer, one said: "I have no crystal ball. It's too soon to say.
"There is a will to make sure by summer that we have 70% of people vaccinated."
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has previously said his country will be "better prepared" to welcome tourists back once 70% of people are jabbed.
But some euro insiders insist the eventual use of vaccine passports and mass testing are a more likely route to getting borders open again.
One said: "There are many ways to solve this and a simple link to the 70% might not be the best."
The EU has set a target of vaccinating 70% of its population by September 21.
EU leaders are holding a video call tonight to try and make progress.
But in a joint statement they are only set to "call for work to continue on a common approach" and agree to "come back to this issue".
They will warn: "For the time being, non-essential travel needs to be restricted."
Germany and France are both resistant to the idea, which is being pushed by Mediterranean countries like Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
For the time being, non-essential travel needs to be restricted
EU leaders
Mrs Merkel said "it must actually be clearly resolved that vaccinated people are no longer infectious" before jabs passports can be introduced.
She added: "As long as the number of those who have been vaccinated is still so much smaller than the number who are waiting for vaccination, the state should not treat the two groups differently.
"Until the so-called herd immunity is achieved in a few months through the vaccinations, it is my goal to proceed in such a way that we don't keep opening and then closing again.
"For this we need a lot of patience and strength."
EU insiders warned talks over using jabs passports to open up tourism again are "complicated" given the divisions within the bloc.
A senior EU diplomat said there is agreement such documents should be used for cross-border healthcare.
But they warned applying them to international travel presents "many, many more difficulties" for some countries.
They added: "We still don't have advice from the health authorities on what the vaccine does and does not do.
"Can you still contaminate others if you have been vaccinated? I don't know."
The diplomat said European countries want a joint approach and expressed doubts any would go it alone by letting Brits in early.
An EU official said the debate on reopening international travel is splintered with "everyone thinking in their own corner".
They said: "Politically it's perhaps too much to digest right now with more immediate issues to solve first."
A second EU official was more blunt, saying the bloc wants to avoid "a new death season".
Some EU leaders are much more impatient to reopen their borders again to travellers from both other European countries and Britain.
Austria's Sebastian Kurz called for a "green passport" that could be used to allow vaccinated people travel freely within the EU.
He said: "We want to get back to normal as quickly as possible, have our old lives back, and maximum freedom."
EU diplomats have said such a scheme could be extended to Britain if our infection rates drop significantly.
One said: "If the British vaccination plans work out then we could have that discussion.
"If Britain would be successful, there would be a willingness to do so."
Greece is already pushing ahead with vaccine passports and is in talks with the UK about a tourism pact.
But at the other end of the scale, Cyprus and Malta have vaccinated fewer than 70,000 people.
EU chiefs have been alarmed by infections remaining high across most of the continent while the vaccine drive remains in first gear.
Their efforts are being blighted by low take up of the AstraZeneca jab after French and German politicians spread misinformation about its efficacy.
In Germany, health officials are sitting on a stockpile of 1.2 million unused doses of the jab, frustrating any plans to get out of lockdown soon.
Angela Merkel has said a “third wave"; of infections could sweep the country as it struggles with the jab rollout - as the UK counts down the days to freedom.
Just four per cent of the German population has been immunised, compared to England's 27.4 per cent, according to the .
Responding to Germany's reluctance to get the jab, Professor Thomas Mertens told BBC Radio 4 that there was a "problem" in rolling out the vaccine in Germany.
He said: "At the moment we have 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in-store and only about 240,000 doses have been given to the people, that is definitely a problem at the moment."
And experts in France have warned the country is facing a third wave this Spring due to its slow jabs drive.
Despite the British vaccine rollout success, there is a fresh threat to summer holidays on the horizon from health bureaucrats.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has now warned that Covid vaccinations should not be used to determine whether people can enter a country, reported .
The WHO said there were still "critical unknowns" about the efficacy of vaccinations in reducing transmission and preventing the virus even as governments work on vaccine certificates as a way to kickstart travel.
It said that national authorities, airlines and travel operators "should not introduce requirements of proof of Covid-19 vaccination for international travel as a condition for departure or entry".
Vaccination should not exempt travellers from having to undergo other "travel risk-reduction measures", such as testing or quarantine, it added.
In his lockdown exit roadmap, Boris Johnson gave hope that international travel could restart as early as May 17, with vaccination documents seen as critical to enable holidaymakers to travel abroad this summer.
The PM has promised he will make a decision after a Department of Transport investigation into how it could be safely done, which is due to report on April 12.
But the WHO will only review its own position on use of vaccination proof for entry or departure in three months, around the end of May.
Although positive Boris Johnson has offered a ray of hope for Brits desperate for a break, some in his own Cabinet seem to be backpedalling on the roadmap.
Home Secretary Priti Patel warned it is “far too early” to book overseas trips.
She told MPs: “It is too early and we have to look at the data at every single stage and the road map outlined by the Prime Minister makes that abundantly clear.”
Despite that, holiday bookings soared after the PM’s cheering roadmap speech on Monday.
Southern European countries including Spain and Greece are desperate for Brits to return for their holidays, and have reacted furiously to EU and WHO misgivings.
Greece tourism minister Harry Theocharis said the bloc needs to "move more quickly" on agreeing a common vaccine passport for visitors like Brits.
He fumed: "Looking at the reaction of some countries to vaccination certificate proposals, I feel there's a lot of short-sightedness."
Greece had been in talks with the UK government about welcoming Brit holidaymakers who have been vaccinated this summer without having to have negative coronavirus tests.
Spanish tourism officials had also confirmed their commitment to the introduction of Covid immunity passports that would enable Brits to resume their historic love affair with the Costas.
Just this week, the local government in the Spanish resort town of Benidorm has started drawing up plans to ensure the safety of tourists on its sandy beaches amid the easing of travel restrictions.
According to an official statement obtained by press agency Newsflash, Benidorm mayor Toni Perez has proposed to expand on a plan called ‘Benidorm Beach Safety Plan' which was launched last year.
He said: "The model will be extended to guarantee capacity, social distancing, and health and safety while ensuring that people still enjoy the beach."
The plan proposes to divide the beaches into individual squares measuring four metres in both length and width that will ensure social distancing is maintained between visitors.
If the proposal is approved, the government will hire more staff to ensure the beach restrictions are followed.
Other measures include the suspension of sunbed and hammock renting as well as constant cleaning of the area by staff who will disinfect them in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
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The mayor said: "The implementation of these services will show that the city and our beaches are ready for the return of tourists, guaranteeing they can enjoy our beaches while always keeping the health of visitors at the forefront of our plans.”
The town hall is set to vote on the proposal put forward by Perez tomorrow.