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British citizens who have taken Covishield vaccine being barred from travel: Report

WION Web Team
LondonUpdated: Jul 14, 2021, 05:14 PM IST
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Boris Johnson to take Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Photograph:(Reuters)

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WHO has already authorised India's Serum Institute of India's Covishield vaccine, however, European Medicines Agency (EMA) is yet to officially approve the vaccine.

According to reports, Britons who have received the Covishield vaccine which is a version of Oxford's AstraZeneca vaccine have been barred from travelling to European holiday destinations.

India had earlier taken up the Covishield issue with the EU as World Health Organization's(WHO) Soumya Swaminathan in a tweet had said 15 countries in the EU now recognise Covishield for travellers.

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European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently said it hasn't received marketing authorisation application for Covishiled and hasn't officially authorised the vaccine.

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Austria, Germany, Finland, Greece, Switzerland among other European countries have apporoved the Covishield vaccine. The vaccine has been authorised by the WHO.

EU has so far authorised the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines which are being widely used in Europe with some under review including Germany's CureVac, Russia's Sputnik V, China's Sinovac.

Reports say Finland, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland accept all vaccines authorised by the WHO.

Britain's transport secretary Grant Shapps had said earlier that British citizens who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by India's Serum Institue of India(SII) should not be prevented from travelling.

Reports say SII's Covishield vaccine batch numbers appear on Britain's NHS Covid travel pass. Around 5 million Britons have reportedly taken the Covishield vaccine.

British PM Boris Johnson had said recently that he was confident travellers who had received the Covishield vaccine wouldn't have a problem after a report indicated that people who had taken the Indian version of AstraZeneca vaccine could be blocked from European travel destinations.

UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had earlier approved the Covishield vaccine.

(With inputs from Agencies)