UK's govt approves Covishield vaccine in its travel advisory

The UK government has added the Indian manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine Covishield to its international travel advisory. The UK government has taken this step after it received criticism of not including vaccines produced by Serum Institute of India in a list of eligible Covid-19 vaccines recognised under Britain’s reviewed international travel norms, effective from October 4.

But there still no clarity vaccine recognition process for Indian travellers. India is not yet on a list of 17 approved countries from where travellers won’t face quarntine clause.

The advisory from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) states, “Formulations of the 4 listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines.”

When arriving in England the individual must have completed the course of vaccine at least 14 days before. A pre-departure PCR test will now not be required for those vaccinated travellers who will take a post-arrival test in England. The passengers will be required to submit a complete passenger locator form in advance.

The UK at present uses traffic light system of red, amber and green countries based on levels of Covid-19 risk. It will now be scrapped and replaced with one red list only.

The Indians vaccinated with any vaccines in India – including Covishield – were not recognised as vaccinated under the UK’s eligibility criteria, until this update.