SII APPLIES TO EMA FOR ‘GREEN PASS’ FOR COVISHIELD

NEW DELHI: The Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for it to approve its Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, for the European Union’s Green Pass – an immunity document that is meant to ease travel within and to the European bloc.

EMA currently recognises only four Covid-19 vaccines -Comirnaty of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzervria by AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen -- that have received EU wide marketing authorisation so far.

NEW DELHI: Serum Institute of India (SII) has requested the government to take up the matter of inclusion of Covishield vaccine in the EU Covid-19 Vaccination Passport with the European Union and other countries, citing this will affect students and business travellers and cause severe disruptions to the Indian and global economy.

Only four vaccines -- Comirnaty of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Vaxzervria by AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen -- have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and only those vaccinated by these vaccines will be given vaccination passports and will be allowed to travel within the EU.

“India has a large population. However, not including Covishield into the EU Covid-19 Vaccination Passport will not allow Covishield vaccinated people to travel to European countries and this will affect students, business travellers back and forth, and cause severe disruptions to our economy and to the global economy,” a source quoted Adar C Poonawalla, CEO of SII, as having communicated in a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Sources said referring to Poonawalla’s letter, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, Prakash Kumar Singh, has also sought Jaishankar’s intervention at the highest level, saying, “It will be in the national interest as well as in the interest of people at large globally if Covishield vaccine is included in the EU COovid-19 Vaccination Passport.” Poonawalla in his letter is learnt to have mentioned that nearly 30 crore people have already been vaccinated with Covishield in India and it is expected that more than 50 per cent of Indian population will be protected with Covishield vaccine finally.

The letter also mentions that AstraZeneca-SII Covishield has been manufactured under technology transfer from Oxford/ AstraZeneca.