EMA Excludes Covishield Vaccines, Indians May Not Get Green Pass For EU

European Union (EU) has started the procedure for issuing the ‘Green Pass’ which will be available from July 1 and allow people to travel for work or tourism. The pass will be given only to those who have administered with COVID-19 vaccines which has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EMA has approved only four vaccines to be used in the EU member states, Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Moderna, Vaxzervria (AstraZeneca), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). They excluded Covishield, a version of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). 

However, World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved the Covishield vaccine.

Some of the EU member states are flexible to  amend the rules to allow entry to individuals vaccinated with non-EMA approved jabs.

While Iceland has decided to allow the entry of those vaccinated with any of the jabs approved by both EMA and World Health Organisation (WHO). France has cleared that it would facilitate easy entry for only those vaccinated with EMA-approved vaccines, and not with the vaccines manufactured in India and Russia.

The decision will restrict Indian travellers from the country who mostly took the jab of Covishield and Covaxin.

Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla assured all those who took Covisheild to resolve the matter soon. He tweeted, “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.”