News
Travel
Select European countries clear India’s Covishield, EU holds back

NITN | @notintownlive | 05 Jul 2021, 05:15 am

Select European countries clear India’s Covishield, EU holds back European Union

Image credit: Unsplash

New Delhi/NITN: With select European countries willing to allow travellers inoculated with Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield, you may not have to scrap your travel plans yet.

Apart from various countries still wary of opening their borders to travellers from India, the European Union (EU) keeping the Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield out of its list of vaccines cleared for the ‘green pass’ has further queered the pitch for Indian travellers.

Although Covishield has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) under its emergency use listing (EUL), it has not been approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) – the agency responsible for evaluating and supervising medicinal products for the European Union.

EMA has so far approved only four Covid-19 vaccines – Comirnaty (BioNTech-Pfizer), Moderna, Vaxzevria (Oxford-AstraZeneca), and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
The ‘green pass’ is the EU's virtual vaccine passport list which will allow easy travel between EU countries.

As of now, Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain have declared they will allow travellers inoculated with Covishield, according to media reports.

Switzerland and Iceland have also ruled in favour of Covishield.

However, more details are awaited on the matter, especially if Indian travellers will be extended the same exemptions offered to those with ‘green pass’.

Air India unveils India-ins ...

Indian airline Air India has unveiled a new collection of amenity kits and loungewear for guests travelling on its international flights.

Emirates brings next-gen A3 ...

Emirates will introduce its Airbus A350 aircraft on its daily Dubai–Mauritius route from November 1, 2026, replacing the Boeing 777 currently operating the service. The new aircraft will operate flights EK709 and EK710 between Dubai and Mauritius, the airline said.

Lufthansa launches Kuala Lu ...

Lufthansa has launched a new nonstop service between Kuala Lumpur and Frankfurt, with the first flight operating on October 26. The route connects Malaysia’s capital with Frankfurt, one of Europe’s major aviation hubs.