'Covishield accepted in 16 European nations' cheers Adar Poonawalla; no EU nod yet

In a boost to Serum Institute of India (SII), 16 European nations have allowed travellers inoculated with Covishield to enter their countries. Sharing a news report on Saturday, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted that vaccinated travellers must read the entry guidelines as it may from country to country. SII is yet to apply for formal marketing authorisation in the EU.

Covishield accepted in sixteen European nations

"It is indeed good news for travelers, as we see 16 European countries recognising COVISHIELD as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However, despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country," tweeted Adar Poonawalla. As of date, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and France have accepted Covishield.

EMA: SII yet to apply for distribution in EU

On Thursday, the European Union's Medicines agency (EMA) clarified that Serum Institute of India (SII) is yet apply for formal marketing authorisation in the EU. EMA stated that only after SII applies can Covishield be evaluated for use in the EU. If accepted by the EU, Covishield will be included in the EU Green Pass which allows unrestricted movement in all EU member states for business and tourism purposes.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said that he was in touch with EU regulators and at a diplomatic level with different countries to resolve Covishield's exclusion, while its British version -Vaxzevria was approved. In response, the EU pointed out that the European Medical Agency (EMA) has not received a request for Covishield to be approved. EU added that EMA does not investigate any drugs unless they are asked to do so by the companies and said that the member states of the EU have the option to accept vaccinations authorised by the WHO.

Covishield excluded from EU Green Pass

As European states started unlocking amid reduced COVID cases, the EU 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). Though the member states are not legally obliged to implement the certificate, all EU member states have agreed to a 'Green Pass' to travel across the continent from July 1. 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.

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). 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. As Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and SII's Covishield has been excluded, India said that it will recognise the EU digital Covid certificate in reciprocation for acceptance of both vaccines.