Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the Government is working on a means for children who’ve recovered from COVID to prove they have the antibodies so they can travel to countries where vaccines are a condition of entry.

He was speaking in response to a question posed by a member of the public at a special COVID Downing Street briefing yesterday.

Mr Javid was asked what the Government was doing to provide children aged 11 to 16 who’ve recovered from COVID with proof of their recovery in time for half-term travel.

The Health Secretary said: “In many countries – not all – where they have a vaccination rule for entry will treat anyone under 16 as fully vaccinated, as the UK does.

“That doesn’t apply to every single country so we are working on a plan from our end that would give some kind of proof of antibodies, but it will ultimately be up to the country that child with his or family is travelling to decide whether they can accept that.

“We are working with our international partners, as we have done with vaccines, to come to an understanding.”

However, Mr Javid did not commit to providing any certification before the October half-term holiday.

Providing proof of recent recovery from COVID could also free families from the cost of COVID tests to travel to some countries where testing as an alternative to the vaccine is accepted if they have a children who’s recently had the illness.

It could also release travellers who’ve recently recovered from COVID from the risk of testing positive – which can happen several weeks after recovery – and being refused entry to another country.