BRITS will need three jabs to use vaccine passports for entry to nightclubs and football matches from as early as February.
Health secretary Sajid Javid today announced ministers will update the definition of fully vaccinated to include the third jab.
He said this will be done “once all adults have had a reasonable chance” to get the top-up shot.
Boris Johnson has unveiled plans to offer all over 18s the chance to book their booster appointment by the end of the year.
That means the new rules, which would affect tens of millions of Brits, could come into force from February.
Mr Javid confirmed the move as he addressed the Commons on the Government’s latest steps to combat the Omicron variant.
He said: “From Wednesday you’ll need to show a negative lateral flow test to get into nightclubs and large events, with an exemption for the double vaccinated.
“Once all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab, we intend to change this exemption to require a booster dose.”
MPs are set to vote on plans to introduce domestic vaccine passports tomorrow, with the PM facing a major rebellion.
Up to 100 Tories are expected to rebel against the measures, with a quarter of ministerial aides on No 10 resignation watch.
But the new restrictions are set to pass because they’re being backed by Labour.
It comes after the PM earlier refused to rule out extra Covid restrictions before Christmas in the battle against Omicron.
Boris said he’ll take “whatever steps are necessary to protect public health” when grilled on fears of a new lockdown.
But he also suggested further curbs can be avoided if the booster campaign hits “warp speed” in the next fortnight.
He said: “The best thing we can do to protect ourselves, to protect our country, and to ensure we have as normal a Christmas as possible is to get boosted now.”
Boris said Omicron is “spiking” across the country and will make up the majority of new cases in London from tomorrow.
And he urged Brits to “set on one side” reports from South Africa that the new variant is a milder form of the virus.
Booster ‘warp speed’
The PM said he believes Plan B will buy enough time to get boosters into arms but repeatedly refused to rule out further restrictions.
He said: “Throughout the pandemic I’ve been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going, and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.
“We think that the steps we’re taking, Plan B combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, is the right approach and the most important thing everyone can do is to get boosted now.
“Looking at the balance of the risks, looking at the epidemiology, looking at where we are with Omicron, everything we know – and don’t forget there are still some important things we don’t know about Omicron – this is the best approach.
“The combination of Plan B, which is some sensible steps to slow the spread of the virus, to buy us some time to help reduce the infections and of course the mortality rate, and combine that with rapidly building up our booster defences.
He added: “The reason we’re doing this is because it became clear on Friday that two jabs were not enough.
“That was the key moment when we realised we had to accelerate the booster campaign because three jabs does lift your level of protection right back up.”
