Citing no problem in recognising the Covishield vaccine, the British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis said the UK government is in talks with the creators of the Cowin app over vaccine certificates.
As the controversy over Britain implementing severe quarantine rules even for Indians travellers who got both doses of Covishield increases, Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India has clearly stated that the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute "is not the issue".
The ingredients in the vaccine qualify as approved but not the certificates that were given by India, the UK had said.
Though Covishield is the same Oxford -AstraZeneca vaccine used to inoculate the Britons, it still has not been accepted by the government there till now. The vaccine is only recognised if given in one of the 17 nations included in the 'green-listed' countries - in which India is not included.
Double vaccinated Indian citizens visiting the UK still have to undergo a strict quarantine period of 10 days and go for two RT-PCR tests. This means Indian visitors will be treated as 'unvaccinated' and take with them a pre-departure Covid test, then RT-PCR tests on Day 2 and Day 8 of arrival in the country. They will also have to self-isolate at their destination for 10 days.
Also Read: US to ease travel curbs for fully vaccinated foreign visitors
In an interview with the news agency NDTV, Mr Alex Ellis said: "The question is, were you a 'green-listed' country? On our list of 17 countries are mainly 'green-listed' countries because they have very low levels of covid...India still has some Covid as we know. That's why it is on the 'amber' list."
“We are clear Covishield is not a problem. The UK is open to travel and we are already seeing a lot of people going from India to the UK… Over 62,500 student visas have been issued in the year ending June 2021… We want to make the process of travelling as easy as possible… We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the Cowin app and the NHS app,” Mr Ellis said.
"We listen very carefully to what the Indian government says,” Ellis said on the question if the Covishield vaccine was recognised under diplomatic pressure.
On Tuesday, India had warned of "reciprocal action" against the "discriminatory nature of UK vaccine recognition".
Another controversial statement was issued by the British High Commission in India on September 20 implying the UK administration has doubts about India’s Cowin vaccination certificates. "We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand the UK's recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India," stated the statement.
The UK never doubted India’s inoculation drive, Mr Ellis said.
"We have to have confidence (in the Co-Win app)...For the last couple of weeks, we have been having detailed technical conversations between the builders of the UK's NHS app and India's Co-Win app. They have been talking to each other about how the apps work, their security protocols," he said.
"It is a very new policy which takes a bit of time to work through. What happens in the UK affects public health in India and what happens in India affects public health in the UK because of the fantastic movement of people between the two countries. So, we need to get this right.”
Dr R S Sharma, the CEO of National Health Authority (NHA), the producer of Cowin has said that they have not received any official communication from the UK government about any issue on the app, while he added both parties had two meetings where they explained to each other their system.
Also Read: Indians bash UK’s new vaccine-linked travel curbs; call it 'racist'
“They sent a message that technical discussions have been completed and to their satisfaction. There were no concerns,” said Sharma.
“There can be no concern because our product is as perfect as it can be. It is QR code-based and verifiable. Its authenticity can be verified; its integrity can be verified,” added the CEO.
The Cowin platform allows travellers to enter complete details for the purpose of travelling, Mr Sharma informed.
A British High Commission spokesperson said, “We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India.”