From today, people vaccinated with Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 jab Covaxin will not have to isolate after arrival in the UK, as the changes announced by Britain, which added the shot into its list of approved vaccines, come into force. China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines were also added in the UK’s list of approved vaccines, which will benefit people from the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, as well.
The UK government on November 9 had announced Covaxin’s entry into the list of its approved jabs for international travellers from November 22. The move followed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin, which is the second-most used formulation in India. The United States, which also lifted its Covid-19 travel restrictions after 21 months, approved Covaxin, as well; all FDA and WHO-approved vaccines are to be recognised by US authorities.
Covaxin had previously been given an okay in various countries, but the WHO approval was awaited for a while. From October 4, the UK had begun recognising Covishield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, for inbound travel. It also began accepting India’s vaccine certificates on October 11, putting an end to a travel dispute that had resulted in UK nationals being subjected to a mandatory 10-day quarantine upon arrival, even if fully vaccinated.
Government officials said last week that Covaxin and Covishield have been recognised by as many as 110 countries. New Zealand and Australia are two of these countries, according to reports.
Covaxin and Covishield were the first two vaccines to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the January 16 nationwide immunisation drive. The former is the first made-in-India anti-Covid shot, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited. The latter is an Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, produced locally by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII).
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