Ten European nations approve India vaccine, France still considering
Ten EU countries have cleared India's Covishield vaccine amid a row over vaccines accepted for a "green pass" allowing free travel in the region.
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After much diplomatic back channel maneuverings, at least ten EU member states have recognized Covishield as a valid vaccine including Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and The Netherlands.
Estonia has confirmed that it will recognize all the vaccines authorized by the government for Indian travellers.
Switzerland, though not a EU member, allowed Covishield as Schengen state.
On Friday, The Netherlands also recognized it as a valid proof of vaccination against Covid-19.
Officials said that France is "actively working" on the issue of Covishield's absence on the European Union "Green Pass" after the matter was raised bilaterally by India.
“We are actively considering it and working on it,” a senior diplomat told RFI.
The EU Green Pass came into effect from 1 July.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU's top medical body, had earlier approved only four vaccines so far - Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty, US pharma giant Moderna's Covid vaccine, the AstraZeneca shot manufactured and sold in Europe as Vaxzervria, and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen.
Only those who have been given these shots are granted vaccination passports and allowed to travel hassle-free amid the pandemic.
A win for India’s Covishield
Covishield, manufactured in India by the world’s largest manufacture Serum Institute of India in partnership with the Oxford University and AstraZeneca, was not on the list. The indigenous Bharat Biotech's ‘Covaxin’ is also not on the EMA list.
India reportedly took issue with the European Union’s plans to institute a “green pass” from 1 July, warning that India would introduce a “reciprocal policy” only allowing ease of travel for those European countries that recognise Indian vaccines Covishield and Covaxin.
After the exclusion of Covishield, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, said he has taken this up at the “highest levels”.
“I realize that a lot of Indians who have taken Covishield are facing issues with travel to the EU. I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries,” he said in a tweet.
Earlier this week foreign minister S Jaishankar had raised this issue during a meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union.
Travel bubbles
Most of the travel till now was taking place between countries through so-called “bubbles" where two countries agree to open borders on a bilateral basis. This was aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights were suspended because of Covid.
India’s aviation ministry website lists almost 30 countries with which it had such arrangements after the first pandemic’s first wave receded.
Last month, the Indian government had opposed to the idea of a "vaccine passports" at a meeting of health ministers from G7 countries.
India has administered over 330 million Covid vaccine doses and in a boost to the vaccination drive, US pharma major Moderna’s mRNA technology-based vaccine has been approved for import.
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