AstraZeneca: Could you have had a jab from the Covishield batch?

Concerns have been raised that some countries may not allow some people from the UK to enter, if they received an Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The doses, branded Covishield, have not been officially approved for use in the EU, even though they are the same product as the AstraZeneca (AZ) jab.

If you were told you were having an AZ vaccine, it's possible.

Most of the UK's supplies come from plants in north Wales and Staffordshire.

But five million Covishield-branded doses were shipped from India as part of the UK's 100-million-dose AZ order.

An amendment was made to the agreement between AstraZeneca and the MHRA (the UK regulator) listing three batch numbers that were manufactured by SII and were being "assessed and are treated as Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca".

The Department of Health has said it won't comment on individual vaccine supplies, because of commercial and security considerations.

These batch numbers are known to have been from the Serum Institute - 4120Z001, 4120Z002, and 4120Z003.

A quick way of checking which batch you have had is to look at the paper card you were given after vaccination.

The person who jabbed you should have written the batch numbers in boxes on the back.

You will also see batch numbers listed on NHS Covid Pass letter (England) which shows you are fully vaccinated, and which you will need when travelling abroad to some countries and territories. You can see a digital version of the letter on the NHS App.

It's the brand name for AZ vaccine doses manufactured by the Serum Institute in India (SII).

Covishield is widely used in poorer countries, via the Covax vaccine programme.

The product is identical to the one made in Europe, but the EU has not authorised it for use.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) hasn't needed to, because the EU isn't receiving any doses from the site in India where it's manufactured.

The Serum Institute is understood to be seeking emergency EU authorisation for Covishield.

AstraZeneca also says it's working with the EMA on the "inclusion of Covishield as a recognised vaccine for immunisation passports" - although the EMA says there is currently no application for market authorisation.

Currently, the four vaccines approved for use in the UK are also approved in the European Union - three of them are sometimes known by different brand names in the EU:

If you received an AZ vaccination - and go to an EU country that accepts the NHS Covid Pass - your pass should show that the product you received was the AstraZeneca jab.

But it's unclear if other countries will accept travellers who have received Covishield vaccinations.

While Covishield is not approved for the EU, the World Health Organization has approved it for emergency use, and the European Commission says individual member states may agree to let in travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield.

Also, some countries already accept other vaccines - for example, Greece accepts China's Sinovac, Russia's Sputnik V and several others.

The government hopes that the NHS Covid Pass will soon be accepted as a "vaccine passport" which will allow people to travel across borders more easily, and with less need for quarantine.

It can be accessed via the existing NHS app.

For people aged 16 and over in England, the digital version shows proof of:

A paper version confirming that you have been double-vaccinated can be requested online or by calling 119.

Paper versions are available for people in Scotland, Wales and, from early to mid-July, Northern Ireland.

As a bloc of 27 countries - not yet. But some individual countries, such as Greece and Spain, are already accepting it.

The EU says it's working to ensure its own digital certificate is compatible with similar products in non-EU countries.

If it's satisfied a non-EU certificate complies with EU standards and systems, it can decide to accept it.

It's the European Union's vaccine "passport" and it's being rolled out across all 27 member nations - plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

The certificate can be issued if a citizen has:

It's hoped it will make it easier for people to travel around the EU.

Anyone holding a certificate should, in principle, be exempted from testing or quarantine when crossing an international border.

Some countries had already been using the certificate on a voluntary basis - but it was officially introduced on 1 July with a six-week phase-in period.

All EU citizens, as well as non-EU nationals legally staying or living in the member states (with the right to travel to other member states) can download it or obtain a paper copy, at no cost. It is not a travel document and travellers will still need to carry a passport or another form of identification.

If you are an EU national who was vaccinated in the UK, it is up to your home country whether you are eligible for the EU certificate.

It has a quick-response (QR) code with a digital signature key unique to the place an individual's vaccine information is stored - a hospital, test centre or health authority, for example.

The individual's data remains on the certificate and is not stored or retained when it's verified - at an airport, for example.