New Delhi: A total of 16 European countries have not recognized the Indian Covishield to be included in the EU Green Pass, which allows the entry of travelers in the middle of the Covid Pandemic.
This, even when India has asked EU member countries to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines and wants to travel to Europe.
Covishield has not been approved by France, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia.
14 of them are UE members while Norway and Lichtenstein are non-member countries.
On the other hand, 13 UE members said they would allow people to be accounced with the covishield to travel to their country.
It is Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
Switzerland and Iceland, who are not part of the block, have also received a covishield as a Schengen country.
EU Green Pass is being used in 31 European countries (27 members of the European Union block and 4 non-members).
The reciprocal policy, India has delivered to UE members stating that it would adopt a reciprocal policy and release European citizens holding ‘Green Pass’ from compulsory quarantine in the country as long as the demand for recognizing covishield and covaxin vaccines were noticed.
India has urged European Union members to recognize Covishield and Covaxin for travel amid fears that citizens who are inoculated with one of these vaccines will not be able to travel to several European countries in the midst of pandemic restrictions.
“Our hope is that Indians who have been vaccinated through our domestic vaccination program will be treated equally with those who are vaccinated in the EU and Cowin Vaccination Certificates will be recognized by the EU with a reciprocal base,” The Arindam Bagchi External Affairs Ministry of External Affairs has said earlier this month , EU Green Pasststhe Covid Digital EU certificate or “Green Pass” came into force on July 1 with the aim of facilitating traveler movements that are free in the midst of restrictions on viruses.
Under this framework, people who have taken vaccines authorized by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) will be released from travel restrictions in the EU region.
‘Green pass’ will be mandatory to travel to European countries and documents will function as evidence that someone is vaccinated against Covid-19.
Individual member countries have flexibility to also receive vaccines that have been authorized at the national level or recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The four ema-approved vaccines included in the Green Pass are Pfizer-Bontech, Modera, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Who nodded to Covaxin immediately? Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) tends to make decisions including Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin in the Emergency Use List (EUL) within four to six weeks, Soumya Swaminathan, a global health chief scientist has a word.
Swaminathan said who reviewed Covaxin as his manufacturer Bharat Biotech now uploaded all data on the body’s health portal.
According to WHO guidelines, EUL is a procedure for streamlining processes where new or non-licensed products can be used during public health emergencies.
At present, WHO has a vaccine approved by Pfizer / Biontech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio / Serum Institute of India, Astrazeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm for emergency use.
(With input from PTI)