Row on Covishield over but Indian certificate still not valid in UK

New Delhi: The UK has published a revised list of approved vaccines, which includes Covishield. However, India is still not on the list of approved nations.

The updated travel guidelines say that those who have taken any of the four listed vaccines - AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, and Modern Takeda - from a "relevant health body" in specific countries will be considered "fully vaccinated".

India had warned the UK of "reciprocal measures" if Covishield was not recognised. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had told the media that the non-recognition of Covishield is a discriminatory policy.

UK officials had said that double vaccinated Indians would have to quarantine because of "vaccination certification issues". Authorities have implied that the problem is not with the Covishield vaccine but doubts over the vaccination certificate in India. The British High Commission had said yesterday that the government is "working with India to expand the recognition of vaccine certification".

RS Sharma, the CEO of the National Health Authority, clarified that there are "no issues" on CoWin with Covid certification, NDTV reports. He added that the system is entirely compliant with the regulations of WHO, and discussions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation are going on. Furthermore, the UK High Commissioner had visited Dr Sharma at the beginning of September to understand the technical aspects of how the CoWin system works.