Covisheild may be excluded from the EU ‘Green Pass’ list

European Union may not approve Green Pass of people vaccinated with Covishield.

The European Union has shared that people vaccinated with Covisheild (the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine manufactured in India) will not be eligible for the green pass issued by them. The document is necessary for travel purposes within the bloc. 

It was said earlier, this certificate can be issued for travellers, regardless of the vaccine administered but it has been recently declared that won’t be the case due to certain technical difficulties. 

Source- Zee News

The four vaccines approved by the EU include Moderna, Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) and Vaxzervria (AstraZeneca-Oxford). Covishield is not yet acknowledged by EMA, though it is the same as Vaxzervria, only Covishield is being manufactured in India. Vaxzevria, the version of the AstraZeneca, is being manufactured in parts of Europe and is approved for the green pass. 

There is no clear indication of this decision impacting Indian travellers as this certificate is to be obtained by European citizens. WHO’s Covax programme includes Covishield and is ensured to be distributed amongst low-income countries. 

This pass will allow people to travel between European countries without quarantining or submitting a negative test for COVID-19.