Consider Covishield, Covaxin for ‘Green Passport’, Else Won’t Recongise Your Vaccine Certificates: India Tells EU | Earth Indian

New Delhi: With the European Union (EU) relaxing travel restrictions under its ‘Green Passport’ scheme and the ongoing controversy over its move to not include India’s Covishield and Covaxin for its Digital Covid Certificate, India has requested EU member states to individually consider extending the exemption to Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin. The EU’s reluctance in accepting India-made vaccines for its ‘vaccination passport’ has also prompted the nation to come up with a reciprocal policy for recognition of the EU Digital COVID Certificate, said sources.

The sources said India has requested the EU member nations to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal. The European Union’s Digital COVID certificate framework to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic is to come into effect on Thursday (July 1). Under this framework, persons who have taken vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU. The individual member states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines that have been authorised at the national level or by the World Health Organisation.

Adding that India will begin a reciprocal policy when it comes to an exemption from quarantine, and this would mean that unless the EU accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates, their digital certificates will not be accepted in India, and people from the EU will face mandatory quarantine upon arrival in the country. The sources said, “We have also conveyed to EU member states that India will institute a reciprocal policy for recognition of the EU Digital Covid Certificate,” the source said.

“Upon notification of Covishield and Covaxin for inclusion in the EU Digital Covid Certificate and recognition of Indian CoWIN vaccination certificates, Indian health authorities would reciprocally exempt the EU member state concerned for exemption from the mandatory quarantine of all those persons carrying EU digital COVID certificate,” the source said.

In India, there have been apprehensions that people who took Covishield and Covaxin jabs are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under its ‘Green Pass’ scheme. The EU Digital COVID certificate or ‘Green Pass’ will be mandatory to travel to European countries and the document will serve as proof that a person is vaccinated against COVID-19. At present, the EU countries accept only the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen.

Earlier on Tuesday, an EU official said individual member states of the European Union will have the option to accept vaccines authorised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) like Covishield for obtaining the bloc’s digital COVID certificate.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday took up the issue of inclusion of Covishield in the EU digital Covid certificate scheme during a meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Italy.

By Shivam Urkude || Earth Indian