Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of Serum Institute India, acknowledged Monday (June 28,) the difficulties that many Indian citizens faced in their planned travel to the European Union. Poonawalla stated that he was addressing the issue at the highest level.The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the brand Covishield.He tweeted that he was aware that many Indians who have taken Covishield face problems with travel to Europe.Europe's new vaccine passport program, which recognizes a few Covid-19 vaccinations and whose beneficiaries can travel in and outside of Europe, also includes the AstraZeneca vaccine, but not Covishield which is made in India.According to the European Commission, four vaccines have been approved: Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, and BioNTech-Pfizer.Poonawalla's tweet was sent amid reports that travelers who have been vaccinated against Covishield might not be eligible to receive the European Unions green passport, which is a document that allows for travel within the EU and between the countries.According to The Hindu, many member-states have started issuing digital vaccination passports to facilitate movement for tourism and work.The June report by India's Covid-19 Working Group, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, stated that a single dose of Covishield vaccine is effective against 61% of the Delta variant of coronavirus. Two doses of the vaccine provide 65% protection. Multiple countries have reimposed restrictions after the emergence of Covid-19 in cases involving the Delta variant.Scroll.in first published this post. Your comments are welcome at ideas.india@qz.com
