India seeks inclusion of Covishield & Covaxin into EU 'Green Pass'; offers reciprocal deal

With the European Union (EU) initiating the Digital COVID Certificate network to facilitate free movement during the pandemic, sources have informed that the Indian Government has reached out to the member states for induction of Indian-made COVID-19 vaccines COVISHIELD and COVAXIN into the network. The inclusion of both the COVID vaccines will allow recipients to travel across EU nations without having to undergo a mandatory quarantine period. Under this framework, persons vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU. 

Sources have added that while the inclusion of COVISHIELD and COVAXIN into the Digital COVID Certificate network has been sought, India has placed a reciprocal policy deal on the table, offering exemption from mandatory quarantine for those carrying the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Sources say that India has requested EU Member States to individually consider extending similar exemptions to those persons who have taken COVID-19 vaccines in India i.e. COVISHIELD and COVAXIN, and accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal. 

The issue had come to light when several Indians travelling to EU member states raised the issue of facing restrictions despite being inoculated with COVISHIELD, which has been developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and has also received the EU and WHO nod. Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawala on Monday assured travellers that he has taken up the issue at the highest levels. Hoping to resolve the matter soon, he said that he was in touch with EU regulators and at a diplomatic level with different countries. The 'Green Pass' which will come into force from July 1, allows unrestricted movement in all EU member states for business and tourism purposes.

Issuing a response to the matter, Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India, clarified that there is no ban on travel for people who have been vaccinated with COVISHIELD and the Digital COVID Certificate is meant to facilitate travel within the European Union, but it is not a precondition for the same. 

"This certificate is proof that a person is vaccinated against COVID or received a negative test or recovered from COVID-19. So this is meant as a facilitator but it is not a precondition for travel," said Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India.  Ugo also clarified that people who are not even vaccinated will also be allowed to travel, subject to usual restrictions like testing, quarantine, self-isolation measures related to COVID Health Policy. 

COVISHIELD excluded from EU Green Pass

As European states start unlocking amid reduced COVID cases, the EU has created the European COVID-19 travel certificate to restore the freedom of travel, removing entry bans, quarantine obligation, and testing, according to EU's official visa portal (schengenvisainfo.com). While Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland were the first to issue EU COVID-19 passports, all EU member states have agreed to a 'Green Pass' to travel across the continent from July 1. The Member States are not legally obliged to implement the certificate, but most are already in the process of introducing it.

Furthermore, three types of EU’s COVID-19 passport has been launched - Vaccination passport, Test certificate and Recovery certificate, based on the traveller’s status. Holding such a document will be able to travel throughout Europe without the need to quarantine or test for COVID-19. However, only four vaccines have been approved by the European Medicine Agency - namely Comirnaty (BioNTech, Pfizer), Moderna, Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, Oxford) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). EU Commission has also permitted the Member States to issue certificates for travellers vaccinated with vaccines other than those approved by EMA, if they want to permit entry for those vaccinated with such vaccines or not.

Covishield - which is produced by SII in partnership with AstraZeneca, has not been specifically mentioned, leading to confusion as to whether Indians vaccinated on Covishield can travel to EU or not. Other vaccines approved in India - Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and RDIF's Sputnik V have also not been approved by EMA.