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India asks EU members to accept Covishield, Covaxin
The EU clarified on Tuesday that the green pass is not a precondition to travel and individual member states have the option to accept vaccines approved by WHO such as Covishield.
New Delhi: India has asked European Union (EU) member states to accept Covid-19 vaccines authorised by the World Health Organization (WHO) or national authorities, such as Covishield and Covaxin, for Indian nationals travelling to Europe, warning that it will follow a policy of reciprocity and exempt EU nationals possessing the “green pass” from mandatory quarantine only if the bloc does this, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.
The EU clarified on Tuesday that the green pass is not a precondition to travel and individual member states have the option to accept vaccines approved by WHO such as Covishield. The clarification came against the backdrop of speculation about the possible impact of the green pass on Indian nationals as the regime doesn’t include any of the vaccines currently being administered in India.
The green pass framework is set to be in place from July 1 to facilitate free movement within the 27-member bloc during the Covid pandemic. Under this framework, persons vaccinated with four vaccines currently approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU.
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Questions have arisen about Indian travellers to Europe facing problems as EMA has cleared Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen , Spikevax or the Moderna vaccine, and Vaxzevria or the European version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum Institute of India (SII), which makes Covishield or the Indian version of the AstraZeneca shot, is approaching EMA for its approval.
“We have requested EU member states to individually consider extending exemption to travellers who have taken Covid-19 vaccines in India, such as Covishield and Covaxin, and to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal,” said one of the people cited above.
The genuineness of Indian vaccination certification can be authenticated on the CoWIN portal, the people said.
India has also conveyed to EU member states that New Delhi will institute a reciprocal policy for recognising the EU Digital Covid Certificate.
“Upon notification of Covishield and Covaxin for inclusion in the EU Digital Covid Certificate framework and recognition of Indian CoWIN vaccination certificates, Indian health authorities will reciprocally exempt travellers from the concerned EU member state carrying the green pass from mandatory quarantine,” the person said.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar took up the issue of approving the Covishield vaccine for travel to Europe during a meeting on Tuesday with Josep Borell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The two leaders met on the margins of a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in Italy.
“A comprehensive review of our relationship with EUHR VP @JosepBorrellF. Taking forward the agenda of the Leaders’ Summit. Discussed vaccine production and access. Took up ‘Covishield’ authorisation for travel to Europe. Will be following up,” Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.
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On Tuesday, German ambassador Walter Lindner tweeted that his country recognises a double shot of Covishield as “valid proof of anti-Covid vaccination”. He added that this “does nevertheless not modify existing travel or visa restrictions for travellers from areas of concern/virus variants areas”.
Covishield and Covaxin are the two main vaccines being used for India’s immunisation programme.
The EU Digital COVID Certificate will serve as proof that a person was vaccinated, received a negative test result or recovered from Covid-19. Temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU are currently in place from many countries, including India, due to the pandemic.
EU member states are expected to gradually lift these restrictions at external borders as the pandemic fades.
