BackUK non-recognition of Covishield ‘discriminating policy, impacts Indians’: Govt
India's foreign secy HV Shringla says that the EU medical body, EAM, 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,' he further adds
PremiumIndian foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla on Tuesday commented that the United Kingdom's non-recognition of India-manufactured Covishield Covid-19 vaccine is a “discriminating policy and impacts our citizens travelling to the UK."
Speaking at a press conference, Shringla also said that the EU medical body, EAM, 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," he further added.
"Here is a vaccine, Covishield, which is a licensed product of a U.K. company, manufactured in India, of which we have supplied 5 million doses to the U.K. at the request of the government of the U.K. We understand that this has been used in the national health system and therefore, non-recognition of Covishield is a discriminatory policy," Shringla told reporters.
India's Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute, is not recognised by Britain under new rules despite being identical to the doses given to millions of Britains.
Meanwhile, foreign minister S Jaishankar has urged Britain to remove a rule requiring Indians visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated.
The rules, that come into effect next month, have caused anger, with many Indians branding the decision as discriminatory. Britons vaccinated in the United Kingdom with the same Indian-made doses are not required to quarantine.
"Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual interest," Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a tweet after a meeting with his British counterpart Liz Truss in New York, where both are attending the United Nations General Assembly.
The British High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said the United Kingdom was working with India to resolve the issue.
"We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India," a spokesperson said.
The rules, that mandate 10 days of self-isolation for travellers arriving from India, also apply to many other countries using Covishield, including most African ones.
On Monday, Congress party's, Shashi Tharoor, said he has canceled an upcoming book tour of Britain in protest and accused the U.K. government of “double standards."
Another lawmaker, Jairam Ramesh, said the decision “smacks of racism."
AstraZeneca is one of the key providers to Britain's vaccination program, along with U.S. peers Moderna and Pfizer.
The AstraZeneca vaccine makes up most of the doses given to Indians to date. A smaller number have taken an indigenous vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, which is not in use in Britain.
With inputs from Reuters
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