New Delhi: Covshield, an Indian-made covid vaccine, has been approved by Britain. The new decision is in line with the revised travel guidelines. The revised guidelines state that vaccines, including AstraZeneca Covshield, are approved vaccines.
Britain says the problem is not with the Covishield, but with the vaccine certificate issued by India. According to UK standards, the date of birth must be recorded on the Covid certificate. But in India certificate, only age is given. The UK has said it cannot accept this.
At the same time, the question of quarantine for those arriving from India after being vaccinated remains unclear. Those who have taken two doses of covishield vaccine but are required by law to enter the quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in the UK.
Britain does not impose a quarantine on those who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe and the United States, as Quarantine does on those who receive a Covihield from India. The Covshield vaccine, developed by the Serum Institute in Pune, was developed by Oxford University in the UK and AstraZeneca.
India had earlier informed Britain that Britain’s non-acceptance of the Covshield vaccine was discriminatory. The central government had said that the quarantine requirement was unacceptable and that India’s vaccines were of high quality. In New York, External Affairs Minister S Jayashankar called on the UK Foreign Secretary to address the issue. It was after this that Britain softened its stance.
