<p>The UK government’s new Covid-related travel rules which consider travellers from India who have got both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as "unvaccinated" lack reason and logic. Such travellers are required to undergo 10 days of quarantine on arrival in the UK. The restrictions have been criticised as discriminatory, even "racist". Under these rules, only those who have got both shots of specified double-dose vaccines, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, under an approved vaccination programme in select countries, will be deemed fully vaccinated. India has been left out of this list of countries for reasons that have not been made public fully. As a result, Indians who have received both doses of Covishield, the name given to the AstraZeneca vaccine in India, will be deemed unvaccinated.</p>.<p>After the rules became controversial and invited a warning from India of "reciprocal measures," UK officials have said that Britain does recognise the Covishield vaccine but has doubts over the vaccine certification in India. Double-vaccinated Indians have to quarantine because of "vaccination certification issues”. This is difficult to understand because there is a standard procedure for vaccination in India using the official CoWin portal and no one can procure a certificate without going through this process. Indian officials have stated that the CoWin system is WHO-compliant and there are no issues with certification. Questioning the certification process amounts to questioning the integrity of India’s vaccination process. It should also be noted that only the UK has raised this issue. The European Union has left it to its member countries to take a decision on vaccination certificates from India. Accordingly, a number of countries, including France, have recognised Covishield and the Indian vaccination certificate, and travellers from India are cleared in these countries without hassle.</p>.<p>The UK restrictions will inconvenience large numbers of Indians, including students and professionals, who travel to the UK. India had taken up the matter with the British government at the highest levels. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla had raised the issue with the UK authorities. There has been continuous diplomatic engagement over it. The British High Commission had said that it was working with India on the recognition of Covid-19 vaccine certificates issued by Indian authorities, but there is as yet no sign of any change in Britain’s position. The UK position has the potential to adversely affect bilateral relations, and it should reconsider it immediately.</p>
<p>The UK government’s new Covid-related travel rules which consider travellers from India who have got both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as "unvaccinated" lack reason and logic. Such travellers are required to undergo 10 days of quarantine on arrival in the UK. The restrictions have been criticised as discriminatory, even "racist". Under these rules, only those who have got both shots of specified double-dose vaccines, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, under an approved vaccination programme in select countries, will be deemed fully vaccinated. India has been left out of this list of countries for reasons that have not been made public fully. As a result, Indians who have received both doses of Covishield, the name given to the AstraZeneca vaccine in India, will be deemed unvaccinated.</p>.<p>After the rules became controversial and invited a warning from India of "reciprocal measures," UK officials have said that Britain does recognise the Covishield vaccine but has doubts over the vaccine certification in India. Double-vaccinated Indians have to quarantine because of "vaccination certification issues”. This is difficult to understand because there is a standard procedure for vaccination in India using the official CoWin portal and no one can procure a certificate without going through this process. Indian officials have stated that the CoWin system is WHO-compliant and there are no issues with certification. Questioning the certification process amounts to questioning the integrity of India’s vaccination process. It should also be noted that only the UK has raised this issue. The European Union has left it to its member countries to take a decision on vaccination certificates from India. Accordingly, a number of countries, including France, have recognised Covishield and the Indian vaccination certificate, and travellers from India are cleared in these countries without hassle.</p>.<p>The UK restrictions will inconvenience large numbers of Indians, including students and professionals, who travel to the UK. India had taken up the matter with the British government at the highest levels. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla had raised the issue with the UK authorities. There has been continuous diplomatic engagement over it. The British High Commission had said that it was working with India on the recognition of Covid-19 vaccine certificates issued by Indian authorities, but there is as yet no sign of any change in Britain’s position. The UK position has the potential to adversely affect bilateral relations, and it should reconsider it immediately.</p>
