Spain will accept Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine

Ten European countries, including Spain, will accept the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine after it was initially not included in the EU’s Covid vaccine passport scheme. At least five million Brits could have been impacted.

Ten European countries, including Spain, will accept the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine, also known as Covishield, after it was initially not included in the EU’s Covid vaccine passport scheme. At least five million Brits could have been prevented from travelling as a result.

The vaccines have still not been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and do not qualify for the EU’s vaccine passport scheme under its current rules.

But on July 2, eight EU states including Spain, plus Iceland and Switzerland, said they would accept the Indian-manufactured vaccine at their borders.

On Friday, the European Commission said it was exploring options for accepting the Covishield vaccine across the bloc but warned this could take time.

“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 spokesperson for the Commission said.

“I don’t think you can say it will not be possible to come to the EU with this vaccine,” he added.

The EU’s Digital Covid Certificate, which launched on July 1, allows those who are fully vaccinated, recently tested or recovered from Covid-19 to move across borders within the EU without having to quarantine or take an additional coronavirus test upon arrival.

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