New Delhi: The immunity passport or ‘Green Pass’, available from 1 July, will serve as proof that the individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19, or has recently tested negative against it, or has natural immunity build up from an earlier version.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has so far cleared four vaccines – Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Moderna, Vaxzervria (AstraZeneca manufactured in the UK and EU countries), and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
Covishield, which is manufactured at Pune-based Serum Institute of India, is derived from the AstraZeneca shot and has been excluded from the list. Bharat Biotech’s vaccine Covaxin has also been not listed in the approved list.
What is the Purpose of EU’s COVID-19 Passport?
The EU Green Pass, a digital certificate, was introduced by the European Union in a bid to restore freedom of travel for the public and is encouraging members to remove the barriers to entry placed due to COVID-19.
According to South Asian Wire, from 1 July onwards, those who hold the Green Pass will not need to quarantine or test for COVID when entering a EU country. However, individual countries may impose restrictions depending on their currently infection rate/case load.
There are three types of EU’s COVID-19 passport/Green Pass launched:
Vaccination passport
Test certificate
Recovery certificate
According to schengenvisainfo.com, individuals who have recently been infected with COVID-19 and have recovered from it should also be permitted to travel with an EU COVID travel
The World Health Organization has given its nod to AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria and its corresponding versions, including Covishield.
SII in November 2020 had started a clinical trial with 1,600 participants for Covishield, wherein the vaccine’s immunogenicity levels had been compared with that of Vaxzevria, according to the report. While the results of this trial are not out yet, available data suggests that both the shots have comparable levels of antibodies, South Asian Wire reported.
Other than the above EU countries, non-EU countries like Iceland and Norway are also accepting and issuing Green Pass certificates. The Wire
