Millions of Brits may be barred from Europe due to India-made AstraZeneca jab
Up to five million Brits who are looking to travel in Europe could be turned away due to being given India-made versions of the AstraZeneca jab, according to reports.
A version of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Covishield at the Serum Institute of India (SII) has not yet been officially recognised by The European Medicines Agency (EMA), even though it is just as effective.
According to the Telegraph, those who were administered the Covishield jab will have the numbers 4120Z001, 4120Z002 or 4120Z003, shown on vaccination cards.
Holiday goers eyeing green list countries in Europe could be denied entry at the border, reports say, as EU border control will check batch numbers via Brits’ NHS Covid apps or letters for vaccine certification.
The EU Digital Covid Certificate, which launched just yesterday, should allow those fully vaccinated to travel without undergoing quarantine.
However, the certificate only accepts vaccines currently approved by the EMA, which are: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in Europe.
“I see no reason at all why the MHRA-approved vaccines should not be recognised as part of the vaccine passports,” prime minister Boris Johnson said.
“I am very confident that will not prove to be a problem.”
However, when contacted by City A.M., a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care shot down the claims.
“This is completely untrue – no Covishield vaccines have been administered in the UK.
“All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised this vaccine and we’re confident travel will not be affected,” they said.
The spokesperson urged that all doses used in the UK have been subject to “rigorous safety and quality checks” by the UK’s medicine’s watchdog, the MHRA.
“The EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate is currently for EU citizens only, or third country nationals legally staying or resident in the EU. Ensuring safe and open travel with our global partners is a clear priority and we are engaging the European Commission on certification.”
‘They’re exactly the same’
Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol and a member of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, urged those with the India-made version of the Astra Zeneca jab that they are just as effective.
“They’re exactly the same vaccine, they’re just made in a different factory.
“This is an administrative hurdle that needs to be straightened out but people should not be concerned that they’re in some way less well protected,” he told BBC Radio 4.
The professor added that the exclusion is likely a bureaucratic error, as the concept of vaccine passports is still relatively new.
“We’re in the early days of this new world of needing vaccine passports and I think there are lots of aspects of this that are still being sorted out for the first time but it’s clearly, ultimately, not in anybody’s interest – including the European Union – to create hurdles that don’t need to be there.
“So, I would anticipate that this will get straightened out in due course.”
Those at the SII will need to apply for a license for the European Union to approve.
The layers of bureaucracy are not only hindering the ability to travel for Brits, but for vaccinated people across the globe.
“Most likely, the reference point that will end up being used is going to be the World Health Organisation who have their own emergency used authorisation process,” Finn said.
“It’s not just a matter of people in the UK travelling Europe. There’s actually people all over the world receiving this vaccine, who will ultimately need to be able to travel.”