Another EU Country Accepts Covishield Vaccine as Valid Proof of Immunity for Travel, Bringing the Number to 18
The number of European Union and Schengen Area Member States accepting the Covishield vaccine as valid proof of immunity of incoming travellers has increased to 18, since Romania – an EU but non-Schengen country – also recognises the vaccine.
According to the Romanian Ministry of Health, the country currently administers on its citizens and accepts as valid proof of immunity for entry into its territory the following vaccines:
- Comirnaty – Pfizer
- Moderna
- Vaxzervria – AstraZeneca
- Janssen – Johnson & Johnson
- Covishield (AstraZeneca – Serum Institute of India)
Travellers vaccinated with any of these five vaccines can enter Romania quarantine-free ten days after they receive the final shot of their vaccine. If the travellers come from an area in which the cumulative incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days is less than or equal to 1,5 per 1000 inhabitants, not test requirement is applied to them.
The case is different for travellers from countries classified as yellow, in which the cumulative incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days is between 1,5 and 3 per 1000 inhabitants
“Travellers arriving from countries classified as yellow, who do not provide a pre-departure negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival, are subject to a 14-day quarantine. Children under six years old are exempted from the PCR test requirement,” the EU Commission notes in its guidelines on entry to Romania.
The first four vaccines listed above have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and are accepted by all EU and Schengen Area countries. The fourth is so far recognised by the following 18 countries.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Netherlands
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Covishield, which is the Astra Zeneca vaccine produced in India, is the most widely recognised vaccine for travel in the EU after those approved by EMA.
The same was listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use on February 15, alongside the other version of the AstraZeneca/Oxford, which is produced by the AstraZeneca-SKBio in the Republic of Korea.
Over a month ago, in July, Soumya Swaminathan, an Indian clinical scientist who serves as a chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), claimed that 15 EU countries accepted the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India as proof of immunity for travel. Since then, Croatia, Finland and Romania have joined the group.
