Domestically-manufactured Covishield, a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, has been excluded from the list of anti-COVID-19 jabs that are eligible to avail the European Union (EU)'s 'Green Pass'.
Green Pass, which would be available from July 1 onwards, can be used for unrestricted movement in all EU member states for business and tourism purposes. The pass would be granted to those who have been inoculated with any of the vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The EMA has so far cleared four vaccines - Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Moderna, Vaxzervria (AstraZeneca), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
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According to schengenvisainfo.com - EU's official portal for visa-related information - only the Vaxzervia version of AstraZeneca vaccine - manufactured in the UK and other sites in Europe - is eligible for Green Pass. The Covishield version of AstraZeneca, produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), has not been included in the list.
Some of the EU member states, however, can amend the rules to allow entry to individuals vaccinated with non-EMA approved jabs. Iceland has decided to permit the entry of those vaccinated with any of the jabs approved by both EMA and World Health Organisation (WHO), which includes Covishield.
On other hand, France has clarified that it would facilitate easy entry for only those vaccinated with EMA-approved vaccines, and not with the vaccines manufactured in India and Russia.
Notably, India's Covishield and Russia's Sputnik V is being used for mass immunisation drives not only in the two countries, but also in an array of low-income nations which have received both the vaccines under WHO's COVAX distribution network.
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