External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that countries will have to develop an understanding on this COVID-19 Vaccination certificates, rather than specific vaccines, for travel abroad, but acknowledged this would be a challenge as some nations push the idea that their vaccines are necessary.
The minister also expressed hope that the World Health Organization may hint at the approval of India Biotech covaxin “Maybe in September”.
In the plenary session of the CII annual meeting, Jaishankar said the world stood by India during the second wave of Covid as the country helped others in the first wave.
Asked about the need for a global vaccine passport and the problems faced by Indians in traveling abroad, he said many of the constraints on this trip are speculation and not fact-based. “The US does not insist on vaccination for you entering the US, it insists on being RT-PCR negative before you board your plane. India’s issue at the moment is because they are not allowing those people who are in India for a certain period to go directly to the US,” Jaishankar said. “I would say, still common practice (for foreign travel) right now is pretty much test-based rather than vaccination-based.”
The minister said there were problems when Europe issued a notification exempting vaccination with certain types of vaccines. “We took up that issue bilaterally with all European countries and ensured that Covishield was included initially,” he said.
Jaishankar noted that travel to Europe was still a problem for those taking Covaxin, and argued that the regulator had recognized only a limited number of vaccines. So if countries only receive those they have been given jobs, very few foreigners will be able to enter any country, he said. “So, the answer in my mind should be some kind of understanding on vaccination certificates, not on vaccines. There is a precedent for this in yellow fever, yellow fever had certificates,” he said.
Jaishankar said that these conversations are gaining momentum and the International Civil Aviation Organization has been doing such discussions.
However, the minister said he sees the issue as a challenge as some countries “will try to achieve the view that their vaccines are very important”.
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