The UK government has finally recognised India’s Covaxin in the list of approved Coronavirus vaccines, which has been developed by Indian pharma firm Bharat Biotech. This means international travellers who have been inoculated with Covaxin will not have to self-isolate after arriving in England.
The development comes after World Health Organisation's (WHO) Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin, which is the second-most used formulation in India.
The UK government will officially recognise Covaxin from November 22. From 4 am.
"As a result, Sinovac, Sinopharm Beijing and Covaxin will be added to our list of approved vaccines for inbound travel, benefitting more fully vaccinated people from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and India," it added.
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Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine Covishield was added to the UK’s approved list of vaccines in October.
On Monday, Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India took to Twitter and said, "More good news for Indian travellers to the UK. From 22 November travellers fully vaccinated with a Covid-19 vaccine recognised by WHO for Emergency Use Listing, including Covaxin, will not have to self-isolate; so joining those fully vaccinated with Covishield.”
Travellers who have got the two doses of Covid vaccine and have received their vaccine certificate from one of over 135 approved countries and territories are not required to take a pre-departure Covid test, day 8 test or even self-isolate upon arrival in the United Kingdom. The passengers instead will have to pay for a lateral flow test to take before the completion of their second day, post-arrival, the UK government said.
The UK will be recognising China's Sinovac and Sinopharm, both are on the WHO Emergency Use Listing. They will be approved for inbound travel that will allow fully vaccinated travellers from the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
"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," said UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Some other Covid-19 vaccines that the UK will recognise are:- Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca (including Covishield), Moderna and Janssen (J&J).
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Further, the travel rules will also be simplified for all people under the age of 18. They will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border and will be allowed to enter England without self-isolating on arrival, said the country’s Department for Transport. The passengers will only have to take one post-arrival test and a confirmatory free PCR test if in case they test positive for the virus.
"The red list and quarantine system remain vital in protecting our borders and as we've said, we will not hesitate to take action by adding countries to the red list if necessary," UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.