Indians are displeased with the United Kingdom’s latest travel restriction for India. The country has decided that immunized Indians who have taken Covishield, a vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India, must undergo ten days of self-isolation. Because the Covishield vaccination is not licensed in the United Kingdom, travelers who have received it will be considered unvaccinated.
However, as of now, the modified restrictions that take effect on October 4 do not provide release from quarantine for fully vaccinated (with WHO-approved Covishield) tourists from India. The Indian Covid vaccine certification method has been questioned by the United Kingdom. As a result, even fully vaccinated (with Covishield) Indians will be required to quarantine in the UK upon arrival under the modified restrictions for the non-red list, or the rest of the world, countries that take effect on October 4th. Following an outrage among Indian travelers over being refused the modified norms, India, which is no longer on the UK’s red list, and the UK are attempting to remedy this issue.
According to the criteria devised by the United Kingdom, India is currently on the Amber list of countries. For travel purposes, the UK has categorized countries into three categories: red list, amber list, and green list. “Have raised the discriminatory character of UK vaccine recognition for AstraZeneca but not Covishield,” India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said in a statement. Discussions are ongoing, but if they do not meet our expectations, we would be fully within our rights to take retaliatory action.”
While the UK has opted to modify requirements for persons who have received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the same vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune has been rejected. Travelers from countries on the Amber list must be tested three days before arriving in the UK.
“We are clear that Covishield is not a problem,” said Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India. The UK is welcoming to visitors, and we’ve already seen a large number of visitors from India, whether tourists, business people, or students. In the fiscal year ending June 2021, over 62,500 student visas were issued, representing an almost 30% increase over the previous year. We want to make the travel procedure as simple as possible.” “With the developers of the CoWIN and NHS applications, we’ve been having deep technical discussions concerning certification for both apps.
They’re moving at a breakneck rate to ensure that both countries’ immunization certifications are mutually recognized,” Ellis added.
On Wednesday, the UK government website updated its list of approved vaccines to include Covishield. “We are engaged with the government of India to examine how we could broaden UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a suitable public health organization in India,” a spokesperson for the British High Commission in Delhi said on Monday.
“The UK is dedicated to reopening international travel as soon as is practicable,” a representative for the British High Commission in Delhi said on Monday. We’re talking to the Indian government about how we may extend UK vaccine certification to persons who have been vaccinated by an appropriate public health organization in India.”
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