By Online Desk
According to government sources cited by PTI, 30 countries have agreed on mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates with India.
UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary and Serbia are among the countries that have come to a mutual agreement.
Earlier this month, UK had made quarantine compulsory for all Indian’s travelling to the country thereby dismissing the Covid certificate issued by Indian authorities. After much deliberations between the two nations, UK agreed to drop quarantine rules for fully vaccinated Indians coming to the country from October 11.
A British High Commission spokesperson, as quoted in one of the earlier reports by TNIE, said “The extension of vaccine certification is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health.”
However, travellers from few countries, including South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China and some others in Europe, will have to follow additional measures, in addition to the mandatory Coronavirus protocols when they arrive in India, sources were quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Covishield is the only India-made vaccine approved by the US authorities ahead of its reopening of borders for international air travellers from November.
WHO has approved seven vaccines so far — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Covishield (an Oxford-AstraZeneca formulation) and China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac.
(Inputs from PTI)
