The European Union only recognises AstraZeneca manufactured vaccines as a certificate for COVID-19 travel
While France imposes restrictions on unvaccinated travellers from a number of countries to counter the surge of COVID-19 infections, it has allowed the entry of international travellers who have received the Covishield, AstraZeneca’s Indian-manufactured vaccine, into the country from Sunday (July 17) onwards.
This came after the global outcry over the fact that the European Union's COVID-19 certificate for travel only recognised AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.
The European Union recently launched a 'Green Pass' programme, which only allowed travellers who have been vaccinated with an approved set of vaccines to travel inside the EU’s 27-country zone.
On the other hand, from Sunday (July 18), non-vaccinated people coming from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Greece will need to present a COVID-19 test dating from less than 24 hours before travel to enter France.
The move comes as France faces a rapid surge in new coronavirus infections. After falling from more than 42,000 per day in mid-April to less than 2,000 per day in late June, the average number of new infections in France has crept up quickly again, standing now at nearly 11,000 per day.
Fully vaccinated travellers from any country of departure will be able to enter France without a test from Saturday, Prime Minister Jean Castex said in a statement. “Because the vaccines are effective against the virus, and in particular its variant Delta, the constraints weighing on travellers benefiting from a complete vaccination schedule with a vaccine recognised by the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen) will be raised from this Saturday, July 17, regardless of the country of origin," he said.
While India's COVID-19 cases seem to be in control as of now, it is looking at the onset of the third wave which will hit the country by August end according to scientists and medical experts. According to ICMR, the third wave might not be as intense as the second wave because a large amount of the population has been vaccinated.
India began its vaccination drive on January 16 this year with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine ‘Covishield’, locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, made by Bharat Biotech.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and owner of the Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla said it was good news that Covishield, the Indian version of the 16 European countries now recognised and accepted Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine for entry of international travellers.
Here is the full list of countries that have given recognition to Covishield for international travel:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Finland
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Latvia
The Netherlands
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
France
Afghanistan
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Botswana
Brazil
Cabo Verde
Canada
Côte d’Ivoire
Dominica
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Grenada
Honduras
Hungary
Jamaica
Lebanon
Maldives
Morocco
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Seychelles
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Suriname
The Bahamas
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Ukraine
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