Will students administered with Covaxin be allowed to travel abroad?

Team Udayavani, Jun 2, 2021, 10:05 AM IST

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As Covaxin is yet to be approved by World Health Organisation, students who have applied to study abroad this year are in a fix as they are not sure if this will make them ineligible for air travel to countries like the USA and the UK.

Covaxin, a vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech has been facing scrutiny as it is only approved for international travel in 9 countries, namely, Iran, Philippines, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Guyana, Paraguay, Zimbabwe and India.

Covaxin is yet to receive approval from WHO as WHO requires the manufacturer to provide documentation that the UN agency needs in order to validate the manufacturer’s claims.

Bharat Biotech will be submitting a dossier and will also be applying for regulatory approval from EMA.

Few students hurriedly took the vaccine as their parents were concerned about the safety

The students assert that after taking the first dose they realized that the vaccine hadn’t received approval from WHO nor the US approved it.

A student from Manipal who has applied to study abroad but has been vaccinated with Covaxin shared her concerns that she can’t get Covishield now.

Further adding that as the government is promoting it, it is their responsibility to make sure that the indigenous vaccines get approvals.

Not only that but there is an uncertainty when it comes to exams and admissions.

Most Universities are not ready to accept mRNA vaccines and are allowing students to come to campus where the students will be administered a vaccine.

It is also important to note that the US had said that any student coming for this fall session would be given a special visa. Although most countries recommend vaccinations against COVID-19. Unvaccinated travelers can travel with negative RT-PCR tests prior to their journey in the absence of any other country specific restrictions.

As far as the latest update on the approval of Covaxin, Bharat Biotech expects approval for Covaxin from the World Health Organisation for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) during July-September.

The company said regulatory approvals for Covaxin are in process in more than 60 countries including the USA, Brazil, and Hungary among others.