Netherlands Becomes Latest European Union Country To Approve Covishield

Covishield was allowed by Switzerland, Iceland and seven European Union countries, including Austria, Germany, and Spain among others, on Thursday.

The Netherlands became the latest European Union (EU) country to approve the Serum Institute of India (SII)-manufactured Covishield vaccine for travellers, days after India pushed for the approval of its COVID-19 vaccines in Europe. According to the website of the government of the Netherlands, Covishield has been included in the list of approved vaccines along with the doses from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. People who have been fully vaccinated can be exempted from the EU entry ban unless they are travelling from a country that has been designated as a very high-risk area due to the presence of a variant of concern. Earlier, Switzerland, Iceland and seven EU countries on Thursday allowed the SII-manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he had taken up with the European bloc to accept COVID-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin.