(Image source from: indiatvnews.com)

In a shocking development, the European Union rejected the approval of the Indian vaccine Covishiled which left thousands of Indians who are traveling to the continent in trouble. The Indian government initiated talks with the European Union over the Green Pass for the coronavirus vaccines. Nine European countries added Covishield to the list of their approved vaccinations. The countries of Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Ireland, Spain and Estonia along with two other non-member states (Iceland and Switzerland) approved Covishield. All the Indians who took Covishield can travel in these countries without any travel curbs.

The Indian government said that it would recognize the digital Covid certificate of the European Union and it will not accept the same for them unless the EU does the same for Indian vaccines. India raised the issue with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). India also asked the individual states to consider the exemption after which some of the countries approved Covishield. From July 1st, the European Union will allow foreign nationals who took up the vaccinations that are approved by the Union. Comirnaty of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzervria by AstraZeneca-Oxford and, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen are approved for now.

By Siva Kumar