Australia opens door to Indians jabbed with double-dose Covaxin

Representational Image. The iconic Sydney Opera House with Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

Australia has recognised the Bharat Biotech-manufactured Covaxin for the purpose of establishing a traveller’s COVID vaccination status. As a result, Indians jabbed with this vaccine will be allowed enter the country.

A statement from the Australian Prime Minister’s Office on November 1 announced the induction of the vaccine in the country’s official list of approved jabs. This comes exactly a month after Australia had recognised the other major vaccine used in India - Covishield - manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

The issue of recognising both the vaccines had been raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the sidelines of the Quad summit in Washington DC back in September, officials said.

The latest decision for Covaxin after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s pharma regulator, published its initial assessment of the data on the protection offered by Covishield. It advised that it should be considered as a ‘recognised vaccine’ for the purpose of determining incoming international travellers as appropriately vaccinated.

It also approved the Chinese vaccine BBIBP-CorV (manufactured by Sinopharm, China).

“TGA determined Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech, India) and BBIBP-CorV (manufactured by Sinopharm, China) vaccines. This recognition is for travellers aged 12 and over who have been vaccinated with Covaxin, and those 18 to 60 who have been vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV,” a release by the Australian Department of Health said.

In recent weeks, the TGA has obtained additional information demonstrating these vaccines provide protection and potentially reduce the likelihood that an incoming traveller would transmit COVID-19 infection to others while in Australia or become acutely unwell due to COVID-19, the release said. The supporting information has been provided to the TGA from the vaccine sponsor and/or the World Health Organisation, it added.

“Importantly, recognition of Covaxin, and BBIBP-CorV, along with the previously announced recognition of Coronavac (manufactured by Sinovac, China) and Covishield (manufactured by AstraZeneca, India), means many citizens of China and India as well as other countries in our region where these vaccines have been widely deployed will now be considered fully vaccinated on entry to Australia,” the Australian Department of Health said.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has also determined that those who have received two doses of a TGA-approved or recognised vaccine at least 14 days apart are regarded as fully vaccinated from seven days after the second dose.

This includes homologous (two doses of the same vaccine) and heterologous (two doses of two different TGA-approved or recognised vaccines) schedules.