Serum CEO Adar Poonawala Assures Help To Indians Facing Travel Issues Due To Covishield Vaccine

In a major relief for people who have taken shots of Covishield and are finding it difficult to travel to the European Union, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawala has assured help. As per the EU's new 'vaccine passport' scheme, the India-made version of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine is no longer valid.

“I realise that a lot of Indians who have taken COVISHIELD are facing issues with travel to the E.U., I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries," Adar Poonawalla tweeted.

I realise that a lot of Indians who have taken COVISHIELD are facing issues with travel to the E.U., I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries.

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) June 28, 2021

The recent reports suggest that travellers vaccinated with Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), may not be eligible for the European Union ‘Green Pass’- an immunity document that is meant to ease travel within and to the bloc.

At present, four vaccines have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that can be used by the EU member states to issue the certificates. These are Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Moderna, Vaxzervria (AstraZeneca-Oxford), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

The European Union also plans to introduce a 'digital Covid certificate' to "facilitate safe (and) free movement of citizens in the EU during the pandemic" from July 1. The 'certificate' is meant as proof the holder is either vaccinated, holds a negative test result or has recovered from an infection.