mid controversy over Britain’s new rules to quarantine travelers from India who are vaccinated with two doses of Covishield because of vaccination” certification issues”, United Kingdom high commissioner to India Alex Ellis and National Health Authority chairman RS Sharma on Thursday discussed vaccine certification for Indian travellers .
The government has maintained the UK’s decision of 10-day quarantine for those vaccinated with Covishield is “discriminatory” and New Delhi do reserve the right to reciprocate in a similar manner.
Meanwhile, after the discussions here, Ellis said India and the UK held an “excellent” technical discussion on the issue of vaccine certification and neither side raised technical concerns with each other’s certification process. The discussions came a day after the UK government added India’s Covishield to its list of approved Covid-19 vaccines.
However, despite the inclusion of Covishield, Indian travellers are not exempt from the quarantine rules under the UK’s new international travel norms.
The talks between India and UK indicates that the UK may soon announce recognition to Covishield certificates which means Indian travellers will be exempted from the quarantine after arrival.
“Excellent technical discussions with @rssharma3 @AyushmanNHA. Neither side raised technical concerns with each other’s certification process.
An important step forward in our joint aim to facilitate travel and fully protect public health of UK and India,” Ellis tweeted on Thursday. His statement was welcomed by National Health Authority CEO Dr RS Sharma. “Echoing his excellency @AlexWEllis’s views, this will be instrumental in resuming socio-economic activities between India and UK. We also look forward to deepening ties between @AyushmanNHA and @NHSX, as we collaborate to build a digital continuum of healthcare services”, Sharma said.
On Tuesday, India had warned it could resort to reciprocal measures as the controversy around UK’s new travel rules, which come into force on October 4, sparked allegations of racism. The UK government had earlier said that COVID-19 vaccine certification from all countries must meet a “minimum criteria” and that it is working with India on a “phased approach” to its international travel norms. Following India’s strong criticism over the UK’s refusal to recognise Covishield, London on Wednesday amended its new guidelines to include the Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine in its updated international travel advisory.
Referring to new British travel rules, Ellis had on Wednesday said there was no problem with Covishield vaccine and that the main issue is COVID-19 vaccine certification done through the CoWIN app.
According to new rules, Indian travellers who received both doses of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India will be considered unvaccinated and will have to undergo self-isolation for 10 days.
UK officials clarified on Wednesday saying the inclusion of the vaccine will not make much of a difference. “We’re clear Covishield is not a problem. The UK is open to travel and we’re already seeing a lot of people going from India to the UK, be it tourists, business people or students,” Ellis said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the CoWIN app and the NHS app, about both apps. They’re happening at a rapid pace, to ensure that both countries mutually recognise the vaccine certificates issued by each other,” he said.
In a strong reaction, India had on Tuesday warned of “reciprocal measures” if the UK does not address its concerns over the new travel rules relating to COVID-19 vaccine certification with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla describing these norms as “discriminatory”. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also took up the issue of Covishield-vaccinated travellers being required to quarantine in the UK with newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss at a meeting in New York on Tuesday.
The National Health Service of the United Kingdom has a Covid pass letter system that shows whether one is vaccinated or not.