According to reports, Britons who have received the Covishield vaccine which is a version of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine have been barred from traveling to European holiday destinations.
India had earlier taken up the Covishield issue with the EU as World Health Organization’s(WHO) Soumya Swaminathan in a tweet had said 15 countries in the EU now recognize Covishield for travelers.
European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently said it hasn’t received a marketing authorization application for Covishiled and hasn’t officially authorized the vaccine.
Austria, Germany, Finland, Greece, Switzerland among other European countries have approved the Covishieled vaccine. The vaccine has been authorized by the WHO.
EU has so far authorized the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines which are being widely used in Europe with some under review including Germany’s CureVac, Russia’s Sputnik V, China’s Sinovac.
Reports say Finland, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland accept all vaccines authorized by the WHO.
Britain’s transport secretary Grant Shapps had said earlier that British citizens who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by India’s Serum Institue of India(SII) should not be prevented from traveling.
Reports say SII’s Covisheld vaccine batch numbers appear on Britain’s NHS Covid travel pass. Around 5 million Britons have reportedly taken the Covishield vaccine.
British PM Boris Johnson had said recently that he was confident travelers who had received the Covishieled wouldn’t have a problem after a report indicated that people who had taken the Indian version of AstraZeneca could be blocked from European travel destinations.
UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had earlier approved the Covishieled vaccine.
