Amid concerns that Indian travellers who have taken the Covishield vaccine may not be eligible for the European Union’s (EU) ‘Green Pass’, Serum Institute of India (SII) Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla on Monday said he had already taken up the matter “at the highest levels” and hoped for an early resolution of the issue.
Reassuring travellers from India to EU countries, the SII CEO said in a tweet: “I realise that a lot of 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 this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries.”
The SII manufactures the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (with a licence from AstraZeneca) under the brand name Covishield in India.
While the EU’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has approved of Vaxzevria — as AstraZeneca’s shot is known outside India — Covishield has not yet figured in its approval list as yet inspite of being approved by the World Health Organisation.
Along with Vaxzevria, three other vaccines have been approved by the EMA that can be used in the EU member-states: Comirnaty (manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech), Moderna and Janssen (by Johnson & Johnson).
The EU’s digital ‘vaccine passport’ programme, known formally as the ‘Green Pass’, is to serve as proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, or has recently been tested negative for the virus, or has the natural immunity built up from earlier infection. Many EU member-states have started issuing the digital vaccine passport that is to facilitate movement for work and tourism within the EU.
Despite the EU’s earlier pronouncements of its member-states having the option to accept other vaccination certificates in case the travellers had received COVID-19 vaccines not approved by the EMA, technical specifications of the ‘Green Pass’ seem to indicate that the obligation to issue it is to be limited to only vaccines that have received EU-wide marketing authorisation.