LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's strict travel measures
could stay in place until the government can be sure that
vaccines work against new variants of the coronavirus, or
booster shots have been given later this year, health minister
Matt Hancock said on Tuesday.
That would deal a further blow to stricken airlines and
travel companies, which are counting on a travel recovery this
summer to help them survive after months without revenues due to
lockdown holiday bans.
Asked how long new border measures would be in place,
Hancock said that more information was needed on the success of
the vaccines.
"And if that isn't forthcoming, we will need to vaccinate
with a further booster jab in the autumn, on which we are
working with the vaccine industry. These are the uncertainties
within which we are operating," he said.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Kate
Holton)