‘Good news’, says SII CEO Adar Poonawalla after 16 countries recognise Covishield

KEY STORY

•  Hours after France said it would allow international travellers who have been administered Covishield into the country starting Sunday; Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla called it “good news”.

• However, he said that despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country.

• “It is indeed good news for travellers, as we see 16 European countries recognising Covishield as an acceptable vaccine for entry. However, despite being vaccinated, entry guidelines might vary from country to country,” he said.

  16 countries recognise Covishield

   

• Covishield has been recognised by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and France.

• The European Union introduced a green pass for travelling across EU countries from July 1, recognising Comirnaty of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzervria by AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.

• However, it clarified that these are for people travelling from one EU country to another and not for outside travellers.

• It further said that the member nations are permitted to recognise vaccines produced by other manufacturers individually,

• The vaccines included in the green pass have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

  No application received for EU authorisation of Covishield: EMA

   

• On Friday, the EMA said it had not received any application from the SII for authorisation.

• “For the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to be evaluated for use in the EU, the developer needs to submit a formal marketing authorisation application to EMA, which to date has not been received,” the EMA said at a press briefing.

• Meanwhile, the Union government has ordered 66 crore more doses of Covishield and Covaxin to be supplied between August and December this year, at a revised price of Rs 205 and Rs 215 per dose.

• While 37.5 crore of Covishield doses will be produced from the Serum Institute of India, 28.5 crore Covaxin doses will be purchased from Bharat Biotech by December.