Amid row over exclusion of Covishield in the European Union's 'Green Pass', France has announced that it will accept international travellers who have been jabbed with the Indian vaccine. Travel curbs are being imposed around the world, as the highly contagious delta variant is wreaking havoc across the world.
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted on the news: "It is indeed good news for travellers, as we see sixteen European countries recognising Covishield as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country, so do read up before you travel."
The EU Digital COVID certificate or Green Pass will be mandatory to travel to European countries and the document is likely to serve as proof that a person is vaccinated against COVID-19. Travel under 'Green Pass' to non-EU citizens may be rolled out in a phased manner from July 1. However, individual European Union member countries may have separate rules and norms for travellers. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU's top medical body, has approved only four vaccines so far—Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty, US pharma giant Moderna's vaccine, AstraZeneca shot manufactured and sold in Europe as Vaxzervria, and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen.
The SII makes Covishield in India with a licence from AstraZeneca. European Union's COVID-19 certificate, however, only recognises AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.
So far, Estonia, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain have confirmed accepting Covishield. Switzerland is also accepting Covishield as a Schengen state.