Post updated 31 August 2021

The EU has created a new vaccine passport that allows safe travel to all 27 EU countries if passengers have been fully vaccinated with four vaccines, one of them being Astra Zeneca.

However, there’s a catch for Indians….

Indians that have received Covishield (Astra Zeneca manufactured in India by the Serum Institute), are not allowed to have this vaccine passport. This has upset Indians who wanted to spend their summer in Europe this year. For some, it is the reason that they picked Covishield over India’s own Covaxin vaccine.

Will Covishield be recognised by the EU?

As Covishield is the Astra Zeneca vaccine, it seems silly to most why it has not been included on the list. There is some hearsay that Adar Poonawala (Serum Institute) did not apply for Covishield to be marketed in Europe, so it is not recognised. However, he tweeted that he is working on getting this fixed.

I realise that a lot of Indians who have taken COVISHIELD are facing issues with travel to the E.U., I assure everyone, I have taken this up at the highest levels and hope to resolve this matter soon, both with regulators and at a diplomatic level with countries.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) June 28, 2021