There have been apprehensions in India that people who have got Covishield and Covaccine will not be eligible to travel to its member countries under the ‘Green Pass’ scheme of the EU.
15 EU countries have approved the Kovishield vaccine (file photo)
European Nation Belgium (Belgium) has recognized the Kovidshield vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India and developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The Belgian Embassy in India informed on Friday (July 9, 2021). Belgium in India tweeted, ‘Belgium recognizes AstraZeneca Vaccine Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India and distributed by COVAX. This decision is an important decision against vaccine inequality for India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh.
With this, now 15 countries of the European Union have recognized the Kovidshield Corona Vaccine. This includes Switzerland, Iceland, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. People who have applied both the doses of Kovidshield vaccine in India can now go to these countries.
Belgium 🇧🇪 recognizes Covishield, the @AstraZeneca vaccine produced by @SerumInstIndia and distributed by COVAX.
⁰An important decision for 🇮🇳🇳🇵🇧🇹🇱🇰🇲🇻 🇧🇩 in the fight against vaccine inequality! @MEAIndia @IndEmbassyBru @FMBhutan @MoFAmv @MFA_SriLanka @bdmofa @MofaNepal. https://t.co/jf4jzLjYqM— Belgium in India (@BelgiuminIndia) July 9, 2021
What did the Indian government say to the EU
India had requested the 27 member states of the group to consider separately on allowing Indians who have been vaccinated against Kovidshield and Covaccine to travel to Europe. Last month, India asked the member countries of the European Union (EU) to include Covishield and Covaccine in the Green Pass scheme. The government has bluntly told the EU to accept both these vaccines or else quarantine will be made mandatory for EU citizens on their arrival in India. The European Union has eased travel restrictions under its ‘Green Pass’ scheme.
Sources said that India has told the EU member countries that it will adopt a mutual exchange policy and will exempt European citizens holding ‘green passes’ from mandatory quarantine in their country. The condition is that his request to recognize Kovishield and Covaccine should be accepted. Sources said that India has requested the EU to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the Kovin portal. The European Union’s Digital COVID Certification Scheme or ‘Green Pass’ scheme will come into effect from Thursday. Under this, free movement will be allowed during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Pfizer-BioNtech will seek approval for the third dose
Pfizer-BioNtech announced on Thursday that it would seek regulatory approval for the third dose of its vaccine. According to a statement, this demand of the companies has come after the initial data of the ongoing trial. In this trial, it has been found that the level of antibodies against the coronavirus strain and beta variant increases five to 10 times more with the third dose compared to the two doses.
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