Europe-bound students stranded by vaccine row

Many have already taken Covishield and Covaxin, and are worried they may be in for more jabs

The sparring over Indian-made vaccines has left many students headed for Europe in a quandary.

The exclusion of Covishield and Covaxin from the European Union’s (EU) ‘Green Pass’ for Covid-19 has added to the woes of students whose academic term begins in August-September.

Rachana Rama Murthy, who plans to study in Ireland, says foreign-bound students took Covishield because they were told it was globally recognised.

“My loan is sanctioned, and everything else was set in place when this news came,” she says.

Her university, The National University of Ireland, Galway, says those who have taken both doses of a WHO-approved vaccine and test negative on arrival can join classes after the mandatory quarantine.

The European Medical Agency (EMA) is yet to approve Indian-made vaccines, and that has become a new hurdle. The Indian government is countering the regulation with counter regulations against European visitors (see box).

“These rules are changing almost every week. Covishield not being recognised might be just another hurdle that will be overcome soon,” says Priya Sathya, director, KC Overseas Education, MG Road.

Indian regulations are also creating hurdles for students, she says. “With our lockdowns, services like banking have become inconsistent. This has caused trouble for many when it comes to their loans and finances,” she says.

With many countries not making vaccination mandatory for travellers, students can get their jabs at their foreign destinations.

“But you will have a quarantine period,” says Karan Kumar, founder, Reknown Edu Services, Rajajinagar.

Revanth KS, student at Jacobs University, Bremen, is now in Bengaluru. He is worried he might be asked to get vaccinated a second time once he is back in Germany. “This is scary because we have no idea how the body may react to two vaccines,” he says.

Germany stand

Walter J Linder, German ambassador to India, tweeted on Wednesday evening that Covishield would be recognised in his country. “Confirming that a double shot of Covishield is fully recognized by GER as valid proof of anti-COVID vaccination (this does nevertheless not modify existing travel or visa restrictions for travellers from areas of concern/virus variants areas).” he posted.

The EU now says member-states can decide whether to extend the ‘Green Pass’ to EU travellers who have received vaccines yet to be approved by the EMA.

As a result, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, and Spain say they will accept Covishield. Estonia has confirmed that it will recognise all vaccines authorised by the government of India.

Karan says European countries such as Italy and the Netherlands could still insist on students getting an EMA-approved vaccine. “We recommend taking both doses in India or taking the vaccine abroad. Do not travel with just one dose in your system,” advises Priya.

Smooth sailing in UK

While the situation remains rocky for EU students, Indian students at universities in the United Kingdom (UK) are having no trouble settling in.

“A very large chunk of our clients in the last two years have been UK applicants. So far, this year, they have had the most hassle-free travel and university experience. They took Covishield before they left India,” says Priya.

Harshil Shah, who has a seat at the University of Kent, England, hopes to join on-campus classes in two months. “Some universities in the UK have already begun offline classes,” he says.

Arunaksh Venkatachalapathy plans to travel to Australia soon. “All universities there are okay with WHO-recognised vaccines. My worry is that I don’t want to take online classes after travelling all the way,” he says.

India’s counter

New Delhi has asked EU to recognise India-made vaccines or lose exemption from quarantine for EU citizens. This means that unless the EU accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates, their certificates will not be accepted in India, and people from EU will face mandatory quarantine on arrival in India.