UK Adds Covaxin To List of Approved Covid-19 Vaccines For International Travelers

The United Kingdom on Monday recognized the Indian coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’ and added it to the list of approved Covid-19 vaccines for international travelers.

Notably, Covaxin is one of the coronavirus vaccines being used nationwide in the inoculation campaign against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The inclusion of Covaxin in the list of approved Covid-19 vaccines for travel will benefit more Indians planning travel to the UK without the need for a pre-departure PCR test or self-isolation at the address declared on their compulsory Passenger Locator Forms.

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However, they are required to pre-book a PCR or Lateral Flow Test on arrival in England, to be taken before the end of day 2. The United Kingdom’s Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that

“From 4 am on Monday 22 November, the government will recognize vaccines on the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) at the border.”

As a result, Sinovac, Sinopharm Beijing, and Covaxin will be added to our list of approved vaccines for inbound travel, benefitting more fully vaccinated people from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and India.

The United States has also recognized the vaccines on the WHO EUL for inbound travel.

The WHO Emergency Use Listing process includes a review of the quality, safety, and efficacy data performed by WHO experts and many countries such as the United States, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Iceland recognize this categorization.

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Meanwhile, travelers who aren’t fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are required to undergo a pre-departure test and 10-day quarantine at a declared address in Britain.

From Monday, the UK government said it is also simplifying travel rules for all under-18s coming to England from a non-red-list country, who will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border, regardless of their individual vaccination status.

This means they will be exempt from self-isolation requirements on arrival and will only be required to take a lateral flow test post-arrival, with a free confirmatory PCR test if they test positive.

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