Thread by @AdamWagner1

🚨Interesting and important changes to the self-isolation rules - not in force until 16 August

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self- Isolation) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/851/…

Basically, if you are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before you need to self-isolate, you don't have to self-isolate.

Also applies if you can provide medical evidence you can't get a vaccination

I should also have pointed out the rather important point that this exemption also applies to children, that is people under the age of 18.

Also people who have participated in vaccine trials (as I think @TomRHickman was arguing for)

Won't apply (currently) to people who have had the vaccine administered outside of the UK, even if a vaccine approved for use in the UK.

I wonder if that is amenable to legal challenge, seems potentially irrational ( though govt will say it's about being able to prove it?)

Just one other point, it is interesting that there is a change to the rules to allow people to leave self isolation to get an antibody test. This suggests at some point antibody testing may be another route to avoid self isolation (i.e. for people who have had Covid recently)

When the policy was announced I thought that this was going to be part of it, maybe they have not figured out yet how it will work.