After backlash from the Indian diaspora, UK on Wednesday revised its travel advisory and included Covishield in its list of accepted vaccines butIndians will have to quarantine and get tested on arrival as Britain still does not accept CoWIN certificate. Both the countries are in talks to resolve this hurdle.
Serum Institute of India’s Adar Poonawalla, who had suggested harmonising certification, said he was delighted at the clearance. “Leaders need to address the issue of harmonising vaccine certification as a priority,” Poonawalla had earlier told CNBC-TV18.
Earlier, reacting to the decision, India’s foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, had called the UK government’s decision to not recognise Covishield as “discriminatory” and one that impacts the travel of Indians. Heh had added that it is within the country’s “right to take reciprocal measures” if the matter was not resolved.
“The non-recogition of Covishield is a discriminating policy and impacts our citizens travelling to the UK. The External Affairs Minister has raised the issue strongly with the new UK foreign secretary. I am told that certain assurances have been given that this issue will be resolved,” Shringla said at a press conference in the capital.
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Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had also urged Britain to remove the rule requiring Indians visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated. India’s Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute, was not recognised by Britain under new rules despite being identical to the doses given to millions of Britons.
The rules, that would come into effect next month, had caused anger, with many Indians branding the decision as discriminatory. Britons vaccinated in the United Kingdom with the same Indian-made doses are not required to quarantine.
“Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual interest,” Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a tweet after a meeting with his British counterpart Liz Truss in New York, where both are attending the United Nations General Assembly.
The British High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said the United Kingdom was working with India to resolve the issue.
UK has been using a ‘traffic light’ system of red, amber and green list countries to allow overseas visitors but that is going to change from October 4, when the amber and green list will be merged into one consolidated list while the separate ‘red list’ will continue to be maintained.
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