EU is working to allow acceptance of AstraZeneca's India vaccine

EU working to allow acceptance of AstraZeneca's India vaccine jab, Commission says The European Commission said on Friday it is looking at ways to agree a coordinated approach to accepting the Indian version of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) shot, Covishield, across the European Union but will need some time. Reuters Reuters

BRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday it is looking at ways to agree a coordinated approach to accepting the Indian version of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) shot, Covishield, across the European Union but will need some time.

The Commission reiterated that the jab, which has been given to millions of Britons, is not yet approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or recognised under the EU's new vaccine passport scheme to travel freely within the bloc from July 1.

"I don't think you can say that it won't be possible to come to the EU with this vaccine," a spokesperson for the EU executive told a regular briefing.

"In order to ensure a coordinated approach, the Commission is in discussion with the member states to see which is the best approach to follow," a second spokesperson said.

he EU vaccine passport programme allows people to travel freely within the bloc as long as they have had one of four Western-made vaccines. While this includes the AstraZeneca shot, it does not extend to Covishield, the Indian version of the vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India (SII).

In addition to the AstraZeneca shot, the other EU-recognised vaccines are those made by Moderna (MRNA.O), Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech (22UAy.DE), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N).  ...