In the new developments pertaining to the Green Pass Row, 9 EU Countries approved Covishield after India’s stern warning. These 9 countries are Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and Estonia. Earlier, the EMA (European Medicines Agency) had only approved 4 COVID-19 vaccines – Moderna’s, Pfizer, Vaxzervria and Johnson & Johnson.

Contents hide
1. Details
2. What is EU’s Green Pass?
3. Why is there a row on the EU Green Pass?
4. Centre’s Stern Warning to EU Nations
5. 9 Countries Include Covishield in Green Pass

Details

After the second wave of the COVID-19, the world is slowly and steadily opening up. Although International flights are still banned at certain nations from other nations, more and more countries are accepting new travelers who may be coming for business or leisure.

However, in a COVID-19 vaccinated world, a new issue came up where travelers who have taken a particular vaccine will not be allowed by some countries. Several European Nation countries are also among the same.

These countries are bringing EU Digital COVID Certificate or ‘Green Pass’, where only persons that have taken EU approved COVID-19 vaccines will only exempted from European travel restrictions.

Also Read: Covishield Dose Gap Confusion: Govt Counters Experts’ Claims on Gap Doubling

What is EU’s Green Pass?

Applicable from July 1 – the EU’s Green Pass or EU Digital COVID Certificate – is European continent’s way of facilitating travel in the ongoing pandemic era. The green pass will be a proof that a person has been completely vaccinated against the virus, or has very recently been tested negative against the virus, or has somehow built natural immunity against it.

The EU’s green pass enables citizens from other countries to travel within the EU with less travel restrictions.

Why is there a row on the EU Green Pass?

While a policy like Green Pass is the need of the hour, the row sparked when it was figured out that the proof that a person is vaccinated will only be extended to the those, who have gotten themselves vaccinated by vaccines approved by EMA (European Medicines Agency).

As mentioned earlier, only 4 vaccines were approved earlier by the EMA – Pfizer, Moderna, Vaxzervria and Johnson & Johnson.

It should be noted that the Vaxzervria vaccine is produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca, the company that produces Covishield. However, the Serum Institute manufactured was not approved by the EMA.

Also Read: “Get revaccinated with Covishield”: US Universities Ask Indian Students To Get Revaccinated

Centre’s Stern Warning to EU Nations

Meanwhile, the Green Pass row registered another development when Centre issued a stern warning to the EU Nations. India said that the country will have a ‘reciprocal policy’ in the matter.

As per the policy, once Serum Institute’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin are included in the EU Digital certificate, the citizens of EU nations will be granted exemption from mandatory quarantine. Earlier, people who were traveling to India had to mandatorily quarantine themselves for a particular period of time.

9 Countries Include Covishield in Green Pass

In a major win, 9 European Nation participants – Austria, Estonia, Ireland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland – have accepted Covishield after the row.

Meanwhile, Serum Institute’s Adar Poonawalla spoke to NDTV recently and revealed that he is quite ‘confident’ that the European drug regulators will also approve Covishield in the next few weeks. Mr. Poonawalla claimed that it’s just a matter of time for the vaccine to get approval as it is already approved by WHO and UK’s health care regulator.