India has requested the members of the 27-nation European Union (EU) to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines to travel to Europe, sources said. As per sources, India has requested the EU member nations to accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal.
The controversy has unfolded over European Union's move to not include India's Covishield and Covaxin under its 'Green Passport' scheme for its Digital COVID Certificate.
In India, there have been apprehensions that people who took Covishield and Covaxin jabs are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under its 'Green Pass' scheme.
India has said that it will begin a reciprocal policy when it comes to an exemption from quarantine, and this would mean that unless the EU accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates, their digital certificates will not be accepted in India, and people from the EU will face mandatory quarantine upon arrival in the country.
What is the 'Green Passport' scheme
Under its 'Green Passport' scheme, the European Union's Digital COVID certificate framework to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic is to come into effect on Thursday.
As per this framework, persons who have taken vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU.
However, the individual member states have the flexibility to also accept vaccines that have been authorised at the national level or by the World Health Organisation.
The EU Digital COVID certificate or 'Green Pass' will be mandatory to travel to European countries and the document will serve as proof that a person is vaccinated against COVID-19.
At present, the EU countries accept only the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which are Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen.
India's stand
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday took up the issue of inclusion of Covishield in the EU digital COVID certificate scheme during a meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Italy.
