The European Union on Monday said that its drug regulator has not received a request for approval of Covishield for the bloc’s Covid-19 “vaccination passport” programme, reported NDTV.
The programme recognises a few coronavirus vaccines whose beneficiaries can travel in and out of Europe. It includes the AstraZeneca vaccine but not Covishield, which is produced in India by the Serum Institute of India. Earlier on Monday, Serum Institute of India’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla had said that he has taken up the matter at the “highest levels” and was hoping for its early resolution.
“Concerning a possible EMA authorisation for Covishield, as of yesterday [Monday], the European Medicine Agency (EMA) stated that it had not received a request for approval,” the EU said in a statement. It added that it will examine the request when received while following the due procedures.
A European Union official clarified that the European Medicines Agency does…
