UK to list Covaxin under approved vaccine list for inbound travel

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• Nov 9, 2021 | moderator

London: The United Kingdom government stated that India’s Covaxin would be added to its list of approved COVID-19 vaccines for foreign travellers from November 22.

This statement suggested that those injected with the Covaxin vaccine will not have to self-isolate themselves after arrival in England.

The progress follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin, the second most used formulation in India.

Covishield, the India-manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, was added to the UK’s approved list last month.

“More good news for Indian tourists to the UK. From November 22, travellers fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by WHO for Emergency Use Listing, including Covaxin, will not have to self-isolate; so joining those fully vaccinated with Covishield,” Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, tweeted.

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The modifications will come into force at 4 am on November 22. Besides Covaxin, China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm, both on the WHO Emergency Use Listing, will be approved by the UK government as valid vaccines. This will benefit fully vaccinated people from the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

The fully vaccinated travellers will not be expected to take a pre-departure test, day-8 test or self-isolate upon landing.

“As we continue to recover from the pandemic and expand our recognition of international vaccines, today’s announcements mark the next step in our restart of international travel,” stated UK transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

“The red list and quarantine system remain vital in protecting our borders. So,we will not hesitate to take action by adding countries to the red list if necessary,” UK health secretary Sajid Javid informed.

The UK government has further simplified the travel guidelines for all under-18-year-old coming to England. They will now be treated as fully vaccinated at the border and free from self-isolation conditions on landing.