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Accept Indian vaccines or face mandatory quarantine, India tells EU

Foreign ministry says India will begin a reciprocal policy when it comes to exemption from quarantine, reports Asian Lite News

The European Union’s reluctance in accepting Indian-made vaccines for its ‘vaccination passport’ has triggered a face-off with New Delhi. The foreign ministry said India will begin a reciprocal policy when it comes to exemption from quarantine. This would mean that unless the European Union accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates, their certificates will not be accepted in the country and people from EU will face mandatory quarantine upon arrival in India.

European Union has been told that Covishield and Covaxin must be notified in its digital Covid certificate, sources said.

Under the new “Green Pass” scheme, people vaccinated with Covishield are unlikely to be allowed to travel to the member states of European Union.

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.

Asked about the discrepancy by news agency ANI, Ugo Astuto, the European Union ambassador to India, said, every approval process of vaccine must be conducted on its own merit”.

On Wednesday, Serum Institute sources said has applied for EU’s nod for Covishield through its European partner, AstraZeneca. But European Medicines Agency said they have not received a request for the approval of Covishield.

On Tuesday, foreign minister S Jaishankar took up the issue of inclusion of Covishield in the Vaccination Passport with a top EU official. “Discussed vaccine production and access. Took up ‘Covishield’ authorisation for travel to Europe. Will be following up,” Mr Jaishankar tweeted.

So far, only those vaccinated with either of the four vaccines — Comirnaty of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzervria by AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen – do not face travel restrictions.

Vaccine (ANI)

Without the approval of the EMA, nations importing Covishield will face legal issues. Indigenously made Covaxin is awaiting approval from the WHO for emergency use authorization.

Under this framework, persons vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU.

Individual member states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines that have been authorized at the national level or by the World Health Organization.

Sources said India has conveyed to EU member states that India will institute a reciprocal policy for recognition of the EU Digital Covid Certificate.

India has categorically told EU member states that upon notification of Covishield and Covaxin for inclusion in the EU Digital Covid Certificate and recognition of Indian CoWIN vaccination certificates, Indian health authorities would reciprocally exempt the concerned EU member state for exemption from mandatory quarantine all those persons carrying EU Digital Covid Certificate. (ANI/INN)

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Pandemic dealt a blow to SCO member states: Harsh Vardhan

The Health Minister said that the pandemic has dealt a profound blow to the SCO member states on health and economic fronts, leading to an extraordinarily high cost of the economy…reports Asian Lite News

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday addressed a meeting of the ministers of health of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries through video-conference.

“The pandemic has shown that nobody is safe until all of us are safe. This has also highlighted the need for greater collaboration between the countries on various aspects of health. Therefore, it is desirable that we continue to exchange our experiences, learnings, best practices as well as innovations to strengthen our public health systems,” Harsh Vardhan said.

The Health Minister said that the pandemic has dealt a profound blow to the SCO member states on health and economic fronts, leading to an extraordinarily high cost of the economy and at the cost of precious human lives.

“One of the areas of strategic importance in Covid-19 disease mitigation is the safeguarding of the health interests of the global community, which is possible only with well-qualified, trained and motivated healthcare professionals supported by a robust policy framework.

This is the logo for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.(wikipedia)

“India believes that besides bilateral discussions on the issue, a multilateral approach, which would create an institutional framework for mobility of health workers, is the need of the hour. For example, India is currently collaborating with Japan and discussing with the UK and other countries from the EU regarding a nursing service exchange programme,” Harsh Vardhan said.

“India has started the ‘Institute for One Health of International Standard’, which may be leveraged to have a ‘One Health International Hub’ in India, which will address the existing or potential risks which originate through the interface of animal-human systems.

“We need to conquer the adversary with collaborations and by supplementing each other’s capacities, by pooling our resources and through enhanced technical support,” he stated.

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