Sandeep Dikshit
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JUNE 17

The government is in talks to sort out issues relating to American universities insisting on incoming Indian students to get inoculated with vaccines that have been approved by the WHO or are in use in the US.

While the US government has clarified that vaccination is not a requirement for air travel, several of its universities are seeking vaccination certificates that are causing inconvenience to Indian students. Some universities want incoming foreign students to be re-vaccinated by versions of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Some others want students to be pre-vaccinated only by WHO-approved vaccines.

US universities are citing lack of data on efficacy and safety of these vaccines as the reason for insisting on students being asked to re-vaccinate before the start of the autumn semester. Pointing out that there is no uniformity in the requirements by universities, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Everyone concerned is interested in ensuring that the students are able to reach the universities and undertake regular classes.”