Vaccinated but banned: why tourists vaccinated with Covishield are not accepted by the European Union

After Dr Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of the vaccine Covishield against the coronavirus AstraZeneca and Nigeria, they thought they would be free to travel this summer to any European destination of their choice. They were wrong.

The couple, and Millions more people vaccinated thanks to a UN-backed effort could be barred from entering many European countries and other continents, as some countries do not recognize the Indian version of the vaccine as valid for travel..

Although the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe has been authorized by the continent’s drug regulatory agency, EMA, the same injection made in India did not receive a green light.

Regulators EU says AstraZeneca failed to complete necessary paperwork at Indian factory, including details of their production practices and quality control standards.

But some experts describe the EU measure as discriminatory and unscientific and, point out that the World Health Organization inspected and approved the plant. Health officials say the situation will not only complicate travel and frustrate fragile economies, but will also undermine confidence in vaccines by making some vaccines appear to be deficient.

As vaccine coverage increases in Europe and other wealthy countries, authorities keen to save the summer tourist season are increasingly relaxing border restrictions against coronaviruses.

Earlier this month, The European Union presented its COVID-19 digital certificate, which allows EU residents to move freely within the bloc of 27 countries provided they have been vaccinated with one of the four vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, have a recent negative test or have proof that they have recently recovered from the virus.

While the United States and Britain remain largely closed to outside visitors, the EU certificate is seen as a potential travel model in the COVID-19 era. and a way to stimulate savings.

Vaccines officially approved by the EU also include those manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. They do not include AstraZeneca injection made in India and many other vaccines used in developing countries, including those made in China and Russia..

Different EU countries are free to apply their own rules to travelers from inside and outside the bloc, and their rules vary widely, creating additional confusion for tourists. Several EU countries, including Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, allow entry of people who have received vaccines not approved by the EU; several others, including France and Italy, do not.

For Nsofor, the realization that he could be banned was “a wake-up call,” he said. After a hard year working during the pandemic in Abuja, Nsofor and his wife were eagerly awaiting a vacation in Europe with their two daughters, perhaps admiring the Eiffel Tower in Paris or touring Salzburg in Austria.

Nsofor noted that the Indian-made vaccine he received had been cleared by WHO for emergency use and was supplied through COVAX, the UN-backed program. to deliver vaccines to the poorest corners of the world. The WHO approval included a visit to the Serum Institute of India factory to ensure that good manufacturing practices and quality control standards were met.

“We are grateful to the EU for funding COVAX, but now they are essentially discriminating against a vaccine that they have actively funded and promoted,” Nsofor said. “This will only lead to all kinds of conspiracy theories that the vaccines we get in Africa are not as good as the ones they have in the West.”.

Ivo Vlaev, a professor at the British University of Warwick who advises the government on behavioral science during COVID-19, agreed that Western countries’ refusal to recognize vaccines used in poor countries could fuel mistrust.

“People who were already suspicious of vaccines will be even more soVlaev warned. “They might also lose faith in public health messages from governments and be less willing to comply with COVID rules.”

Dr Mesfin Teklu Tessema, director of health for the International Rescue Committee, said countries that refused to recognize WHO-approved vaccines were acting against scientific evidence.

“Vaccines that have reached the WHO threshold must be accepted. Otherwise there seems to be an element of racism here “, He said.

WHO has urged countries to recognize all vaccines it has authorized, including two made by China. Countries that refuse to do so “are undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting vaccine uptake and potentially putting billions of people at risk,” the health agency said. ‘UN in a press release. this month.

In June, the executive director of the Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, He tweeted that he was concerned that vaccinated Indians were having problems getting to the EU and said he was raising the issue at the highest level with regulators and countries..

Stefan De Keersmaeker, spokesman for the EU executive, said last week that regulators were required to check the production process at the Indian factory.

“We are not trying to create any doubt about this vaccine.“, He said.

AstraZeneca said it recently submitted documents about the Indian plant to the European Medicines Regulatory Agency. He didn’t explain why he hadn’t done so earlier, before the agency made its initial decision in January.

The refusal of some national authorities to recognize vaccines manufactured outside the EU also frustrates some Europeans immunized elsewhere, including EE. UU.

Gérard Araud, former French ambassador to Israel, the United States and the UN, tweeted this week that France’s COVID-19 pass is a “disaster” for people vaccinated outside the country .

Public health experts have warned that countries that refuse to recognize WHO-backed vaccines are complicating global efforts to resume safe travel..

“You can’t just isolate countries from the rest of the world indefinitely,” said Dr Raghib Ali of the University of Cambridge. “Excluding some people from certain countries because of the vaccine they received is totally inconsistent because we know that these approved vaccines are extremely protective. “

Nsofor said he and his wife were still deciding where to take their summer vacation and leaned towards Singapore or East Africa.

“I didn’t know there were so many layers of inequality in vaccines,” he said.

With AP information

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