EU COVID-19 Vaccine Travel Pass: Why Does Serum Institute's Covishield Not Qualify

Vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla on June 28 said he has taken up the issues faced by Indian people who have taken the Covishield shot travelling to the European Union at highest levels. Poonawalla hoped to resolve all the issues soon.

Covishield is the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India by the Pune-based SII. Covishield vaccine "does not currently have a marketing authorisation" in Europe. The issue would be considered when an application is received for it, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on June 28.

Serum Institute, Pune, which makes Covishield in India with a license from AstraZeneca, didn’t apply to have the vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The EMA confirmed to The Wire Science it has thus far not received an approval application for Covishield. People vaccinated with Covishield by Serum Institute Of India (SII) are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under the 'Green Pass' scheme as the vaccine is yet to be cleared by the EMA. EU Digital Covid-19 certificate or 'Green Pass' will be mandatory to travel to European countries. Watch the video to know more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2021 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).