Tit for tat move: Accept Covishield, Covaxin or face compulsory quarantine, India tells EU

July 1: In a tit-for tat move, Government of India has decided to quarantine all European passengers, if the European Union (EU) does not accept Covaxin or Covishield doses in its digital vaccine passport. The European Union so far had been reluctant to include the India-made vaccines in its exemption list from mandatory quarantine.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate framework from July 1 will exempt persons vaccinated with vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Individual member states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines that have been authorised at the national level or by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The EU Certificate lists four approved vaccines and does not include India-made Covishield which, however, has been approved by the WHO.

The EU countries accept only the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, which are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen. But Covishield, which is the Indian version of AstraZeneca, is yet to get their clearance.