The European Union (EU) has excluded travellers inoculated with the India-produced Covishield vaccine from being eligible for its ‘Green Pass’, which will allow individuals to travel to the bloc for tourism and business from July 1. The decision is a major blow to Indians and others who received the Covishield jab.
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Although the ‘Green Pass’ plan has been underway for months now, several bloc members have already issued digital vaccine passports, which prove that the individuals have either been vaccinated, tested negative, or have natural immunity due to an earlier infection.
It is a sharp turn in the bloc’s earlier position on opening the EU for travellers irrespective of the type of COVID-19 vaccine received. Now, the technical specifications for the “Green Pass” state that member states will only be obligated to allow travellers who have been inoculated with “vaccines that have received EU-wide marketing authorisations.” The list, for now, includes the Vaxzervia, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
The specifications mention that only those inoculated with the Vaxzervia version, manufactured in the United Kingdom or other parts of Europe, can access the Green Pass, raising concern as around 28 crore Indians have been administered the Covishield jab, an India-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. It also affects travellers from other low-to middle-income countries who received the vaccine through India’s Vaccine Maitri campaign, a “grant assistance programme” to provide COVID-19 vaccines to less-developed countries across the globe. To date, India has exported 64 million jabs to over 80 countries. It has also been a key contributor to the World Health Organisation (WHO)-led COVAX facility, an international initiative that aims to provide equitable and assured access to COVID-19 vaccines to all member countries, regardless of their purchasing power status.
However, individual member states continue to have the option to accept vaccine certificates of those administered with jabs not approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Consequently, Iceland clarified that it would allow entry of those vaccinated with EMA or WHO-approved jabs. On the other hand, France said it would only allow easy access to those who have received the EMA-approved vaccines, excluding vaccines made by Russia, India, and China.
While these developments have raised concern among Indian travellers, Adar Poonawalla, the Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the Covishield vaccine, vowed to resolve the issue expeditiously. He said, “I realise that many Indians who have taken Covishield are facing issues with travel to the EU. I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve the matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries.” He clarified that the company applied for emergency approval recently and that the clearance is expected soon. NDTV reported that Poonawalla also spoke to Indian government officials to discuss the issue with the bloc and its members.
Earlier, the Indian government expressed discontent with the idea of vaccine passports. During the G7 Health Ministers’ meet, Indian Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said it could result in discrimination as several developed countries continue to have relatively lower vaccine inoculation rates. Now, the ‘Green Pass’ issue validates these concerns, as it could result in several individuals who have received Indian, Chinese, and Russian jabs being barred from entering the bloc.