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New Delhi: The United Kingdom’s decision to impose new Covid-related travel restrictions for Indians despite easing their rules is not because of which vaccines are being used, but the certification process on the CoWin website, ThePrint has learnt.
Starting 4 October, the UK will not allow even fully vaccinated individuals to travel freely without quarantine from ‘red list’ countries.
At present India is on the ‘amber’ list of countries and is subjected to a few restrictions. But after 4 October, the UK will move to a new system and it’s not clear in which list will India come as there will be only two lists then — ‘red list’ and the rest of the world. India was shifted to the ‘amber’ list from the ‘red’ on 8 August.
But India has not been able to make it the list of countries whose vaccinations will be accepted under the changed rules. The issue is that the UK has said it will not recognise those traveling from India as being fully vaccinated, even those inoculated with Covishield, developed by UK’s Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
According to a source, while there are no technical issues with Covishield, the UK-developed India-manufactured vaccine that has been predominantly used in India, the UK government has raised doubts on the CoWin certification process. Technical-level talks are currently underway on this matter.
The source also said that the UK is also facing issues with India in terms of obtaining ordinary tourist visas due to stringent Covid-related rules. The UK believes once it approves the certification process, a large number of Indians would want to travel to that country.
External Affairs…