Britain follows Switzerland in recognising India-made Covaxin as approved vaccine

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Britain has decided to recognise India-made Covaxin following the clearance granted by the World Health Organization for Emergency Use Listing of the COVID-19 vaccine.</p>
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Britain has said that Covaxin will be included in the country's approved list of vaccines for inbound travellers.The changes, which come into force from November 22, will benefit fully vaccinated people from India.</p>
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“The travel rules are being further simplified as all people under the age of 18, who have been fully vaccinated, will be able to enter England without self-isolating on arrival,” The Department for Transport said on Monday.</p>
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Switzerland has already approved Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin as a valid vaccine for travel from India, and several other countries are expected to follow as India steps up diplomatic pressure now that the vaccine has finally received WHO emergency clearance, a senior official confirmed.</p>
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Before the World Health Organisation approval, Covaxin was accepted in 16 countries for allowing vaccinated travellers from India.</p>
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The recognition by Britain comes as a significant development as earlier the country had dragged its feet for recognising India-made Covishield which had been approved by the WHO. The UK authorities had made various excuses about the certification process not being proper even though the vaccine is the same as the AstraZeneca-Oxford doses being manufactured in Britain.</p>
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Indian had then decided to hit back and made it mandatory for all British citizens arriving in India to go through a 10-day quarantine, irrespective of vaccination status, in much the same way that Indian citizens were being made to do so on landing in the UK.</p>
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Britain had then relented and allowed those fully vaccinated with Covishield to enter the country without going through the cumbersome quarantine procedure.</p>