Shomporko Online News Desk: Europe is beginning to put out its Digital COVID Certificate, proof of COVID-19 immunization that might one day allow double-dosed Canadians to sip wine in a French vineyard without having to follow the mountain of pandemic-related requirements that currently exist.
There’s just one problem: the program doesn’t yet recognize all Canadian-approved COVID-19 immunizations.
All of the vaccines approved by the European Union have been approved by Canada: Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), the latter of which has yet to be disseminated.
However, while Canada has doled out both the European-made version of the AstraZeneca jab and its Indian-made counterpart – known as Covishield – Brussels has only approved the European-made version.
That means Canadians who received at least one dose of the Covishield vaccine might find themselves running into a roadblock as they try to book a trip to the E.U., should Europe’s internal passport program be extended to international travelers.
“My understanding is that the two AstraZeneca manufactured vaccines, European Union and India, are biologically identical,” said Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto.
“So what we’ve got is a bureaucratic situation here that could well indeed stand in the way of people’s freedom of travel.”
In Canada, 1.6 million people have received a jab of the European-made version of AstraZeneca, according to the government’s figures. But another 272,000 people have been given at least one dose of the Covishield vaccine – leaving the future of their potential EU travel plans in limbo.
“One of the major issues with vaccination passports is that we don’t have a strong worldwide infrastructure for managing these things,” Bowman explained. “As a result, judgments are made in different places.”
“One of the major issues with vaccination passports is that we don’t have a strong worldwide infrastructure for managing these things,” Bowman explained. “As a result, judgments are made in different places.”
Source_ globalnews.ca
