Serum chief says Covishield issue with travelling to EU to be resolved soon

Pune: Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said that he hopes to soon resolve the issue Covishield-vaccinated Indians are facing with travelling to Europe.

The European Union is planning to introduce a digital Covid certificate on July 1 to create safe and free movement during the pandemic. The certificate is proof that the individual is either vaccinated, has tested negative for the coronavirus, or has recovered after infection.

The current policy of the European Union means that Indians and other nationals inoculated with Covishield will not be eligible for restriction-free travel in the member nations. They will be subject to quarantine and other protocols enforced by each country.

Adar Poonawalla tweeted that he has taken up the matter with regulators and diplomats at the highest levels. He added that he has realised that a lot of Indians who have taken Covishield are facing issues with travelling to European countries. India has already administered 28 crore doses of Covishield within the country.

The European Medicines Agency has approved only four vaccines and it includes Vaxzervria, the version of AstraZeneca shot manufactured and sold in Europe. The other three vaccines included in the Green Pass scheme are Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

The new vaccine passport scheme, Green Pass, introduced by European Union has not recognised Covishield - the India-manufactured version of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine. Serum Institute has been providing Covishield to many countries including India.

The other recipients of Covishield are largely citizens of low-income and middle-income nations who were inoculated in the WHO co-sponsored COVAX initiative. Both versions of AstraZeneca - Covishield and Vaxzervria have the World Health Organization's EUL (emergency use listing).

Iceland is set to allow restriction-free entry to those who have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Indian government had made it clear that it is opposed to the idea of a vaccine passport at the meeting of health ministers from G7 countries.