Britons vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab will be allowed into the US when travel restrictions are eased this winter, America's top Covid doctor suggested today.
Dr Anthony Fauci said he did not see 'any reason' why people given the UK-made vaccine should be denied entry, despite the jab not being approved in the US.
There were fears that AstraZeneca would not be recognised by American border officials when transatlantic travel is relaxed for the fully-jabbed from November.
US regulators are due to set out which vaccines will be accepted on entry in the coming weeks, but Dr Fauci said he was confident AZ would make the cut.
He told the BBC: 'I don't believe there's any reason to believe that people who have received the AZ vaccine should feel that there is going to be any problem with them.
Boris Johnson's spokesman said he was also confident the AstraZeneca vaccine would be recognised, claiming he had 'no indications that it won't be'.
The jab was the cornerstone of Britain's original two-dose vaccine rollout and has been deemed safe and effective by UK health chiefs.
But an extremely rare risk of blood clots and confusion about trial results has led to its restriction in some countries, including in the EU and US.
Dr Anthony Fauci assured Britons vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab they will be allowed into the US when travel restrictions are finally eased in November
Britain dropped restrictions on fully-vaccinated US visitors in July as a 'goodwill gesture'.
But, to the concern of ministers and anger of the travel industry, the US had not reciprocated.
All foreign travellers heading to the US will need to demonstrate proof of vaccination before boarding a flight, as well as proof of a negative Covid test three days prior.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Dr Fauci was asked if anyone who has had a vaccine approved by the UK Government will be able to travel to the US.
Dr Fauci told the programme: 'I can't account for every vaccine that has been approved by the UK.
'I am not sure about all of them but the specific one about AZ, given that we have a substantial amount of information on the AZ vaccine - again without being definitive about it - I would predict that there would not be a problem there.'
He noted that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make the final decision on which vaccines will be recognised for US entry.
Britain is currently only using three Covid vaccines as part of its rollout — AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, with the latter two also used in the US.
But a number of studies have shown that when administering booster third vaccine doses, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines produce better immunity.
For this reason, the UK is transitioning away from using its home-grown jab in favour of the mRNA vaccines.
Bookings surged by up to 700 per cent within an hour of the President's announcement and airlines' share prices rocketed.
Meanwhile people who have been kept apart from their friends and family due to the restrictions shared their glee at the changes.
They said it 'feels like a dream' while noting how hard it had been to be separated for nearly two years.
The White House will lift the 18-month blanket ban on foreign travellers - introduced by Donald Trump - for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was 'delighted' President Biden was 'reinstating transatlantic travel'.
He also said it will be 'great that family and friends on both sides of the pond can be reunited once again'.
Britain dropped restrictions on fully-vaccinated US visitors in July as a 'goodwill gesture'.
But, to the concern of ministers and anger of the travel industry, the US had not reciprocated.
Today's decision was welcomed by the travel sector, as aviation chiefs said air links between the two countries are 'part of the bedrock of the global economy'.
A BA spokesman reported searches for trips to the US spiked at nearly 700 per cent after the announcement.
They said: 'In the hours following reports around the reopening of the US-UK travel corridor this November, British Airways Holidays saw an increase of nearly 700 per cent in searches for holidays to key US destinations compared to the same time
