There are no issues with the CoWin app or the vaccine certification process, National Health Authority CEO RS Sharma said on Tuesday, a few minutes after a revised UK advisory accepted Covishield as a valid vaccine but said double-jabbed Indians still have to quarantine because of “vaccination certification issues”.
“There are no issues on CoWin with certification... system is entirely WHO compliant. We continue to have discussions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The UK High Commissioner visited me on September 2. They wanted to understand the system... technical aspects,” Dr Sharma told NDTV.
“A resource has been allocated and two further conversations have happened with their team. These were technical-level conversations,” he explained.
The British High Commission said: “We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we can expand UK recognition of certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India.”
The UK’s updated travel advisory now says: “Formulations of the four listed (i.e., recognised in the UK) vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria... qualify as approved vaccines”.
Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla, whose facility manufactures (and then ships back to the UK) Covishield said that he was “delighted” with the recognition but warned “the matter for travel and quarantine is not resolved”
The rules also consider who have received jabs under public health bodies in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei,Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan as fully vaccinated.
Changes in UK rules are most likely to affect students, who are now returning in large numbers to British universities or travelling to Britain to start new courses. The change will mean they will have to pay extra for quarantine.