UK flings another googly: Recognises Covishield but not India’s vaccination certification

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UK came up with another googly on Wednesday by issuing an advisory that accepts Covishield as a valid vaccine but states that fully vaccinated Indians still have to go through a 10-day quarantine on arrival because of “vaccination certification issues.” “</p>
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However, National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma said,"There are no issues on CoWin with certification. The system is entirely WHO compliant.”</p>
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“We continue to have discussions with the International Civil Aviation Organization. The UK High Commissioner visited me on September 2. They wanted to understand the system… technical aspects," Dr Sharma told NDTV.</p>
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"A resource has been allocated and two further conversations have happened with their team. These were technical-level conversations," he explained.</p>
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The UK's updated travel advisory now says: "Formulations of the four listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria… qualify as approved vaccines".</p>
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Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said on NDTV that he is "delighted" with the recognition of the Covishied vaccine but warned "the matter for travel and quarantine is not resolved."</p>
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India has made it clear to Britain that London’s decision to not recognise Covishield as a legitimate anti-Covid vaccine is "discriminatory" and it is within New Delhi’s "right to take reciprocal measures" if the matter is not resolved, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on Tuesday.</p>
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"The non-recognition of Covishield is a discriminatory policy and impacts our citizens travelling to the UK. The External Affairs Minister has raised the issue strongly with the new UK foreign secretary. I am told that certain assurances have been given that this issue will be resolved," Mr Shringla said at a press conference in New Delhi.</p>
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External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had tweeted about discussing the matter with the British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.  "Urged early resolution of the quarantine issue in mutual interest," Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a tweet.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/india-tells-uk-decision-to-not-recognise-covishield-for-vaccine-certificate-is-discriminatory-116301.html">India tells UK decision to not recognise Covishield for vaccine certificate is discriminatory</a></strong></p>