Thanks Willem
I have been travling in Europe for the last 15 years with no problems at all in fact I had a tour planed
For Holland and Germany just as the virus reared its ugly head and had to cancel I would still love to
Do the tour but with the canclation of the Hull to Zeebruge ferry that now looks unlikely due to the logistics.
I do not read the right wing press but agree we shot ourselves in the foot as far as Brexit is concerned the fact
That I voted remain makes it twice as bad,
I see the EMA doesn't recognise a version of the AZ vaccine made in India. I've just checked my card I've received one of the batches concerned. Hopefully a minor hiccup .
No approval for that manufacturing site was applied for until at least a few days ago. Approval of a vaccine consists not only of the vaccine itself, but also, and separately, of the manufacturing site. For example, the two new Biontech/Pfizer plants in Europe could only start when the plants themselves had been inspected and approved. So no, your vaccine does not count I would think until the plant has been approved, and possibly only for doses manufactured after that date. Quality control is a serious matter, and the UK should have realized this. On the other hand, approval should not be too time consuming I guess, given that the plant must have been approved by the relevant UK agency. I hope this does not mess up your plans, otherwise you could try to get another dose, e.g. with the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine. What do UK authorities say? I have similarly suggested to a friend who got the Russian Sputnik vaccine and who ignored my suggestion that it might not be recognized to get a Pfizer one as well.
I see a lot of excitement and indignation in the Telegraph article, but none of his has anything to do with discrimination or colonial attitudes. They should just submit an application. I am in a similar situation, in that having been given AZ I cannot now travel to the USA. I have no immediate plans, but I would like this to be sorted out as well.
Regulator approval of a plant is is required before vaccines from that plant are administered to people in that regulator's jurisdiction. That is to ensure that the vaccines will meet quality standards, because that gives assurance that they will be both safe and effective, and is done primarily to protect the health of the people who will receive the vaccination.
For the purposes of a vaccine passport, all that matters is that the vaccine batches produced in India have been effective. I expect that there is probably already sufficient data to be able to confirm that with more than sufficient levels of confidence for vaccine passport purposes, e.g. if any or all of those batches had been insufficiently effective I would expect it to be picked up very quickly in the statistical data being gathered on hospitalisations and deaths.
Not so much certification as a relatively straightforward bit of bureaucracy.
It is probably very unlikely that every vaccine production facility in the world will get EMA approval, especially in the short to medium term. If a plant's output is destined for Asia, Africa, South America or North America, getting EMA approval largely just so that a small minority of people who receive those vaccinations will have a vaccine passport accepted by the EU, does not make good sense. Take that to its logical conclusion and every vaccine plant would need approval from every major regulator around the world. The EMA, US FDA and others probably do not have the resources to do that in the short term.
Countries just need a high degree of confidence that visitors who have been vaccinated present on average a lower risk of death, hospitalisation, symptomatic infection and asymptomatic infection consistent with their vaccination status. We already know that all the vaccines are not 100% effective at any of these, and there will be people in whom the vaccine has failed to develop a sufficient immune response. Trying to identify vaccinated individuals who have low levels of antibodies and protection to stop them entering a country would not be sensible.
So there has to be a significant degree of pragmatism by the EU, the UK, the USA and other countries which have large numbers of foreign visitors about recognising people's vaccine status. It's early days and initial caution in drawing the rules very tightly is understandable, but a more pragmatic approach is inevitable.
We do indeed need a reliable procedure for the certification of the effectivity of vaccines not otherwise approved in the EU/UK/USA. On an optimistic note: a second Janssen plant in the Netherlands has just been approved by EMA.
Any news yet on the compatibility of the UK Covid pass and the EU one? The latter is now almost completely functional in most EU countries, and will be increasingly mandatory.
Jdsk wrote: ↑30 Jun 2021, 11:46am"But authorities in the central Mediterranean archipelago revealed on Monday that they will only accept printed letters sent by the NHS as proof.
"That means tourists planning to use the NHS app to demonstrate their status face being turned away at UK airports or the border in Malta, even if they are fully vaccinated." https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news ... 97369.html
Italy will be joining France in requiring an EU covid green pass for lots of social situations like cafes and bars, but part-vaccinated people will be allowed to pass from first dose plus 14 days, at least at first, according to the TV. I am not sure what UK-vaccinated people could do.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
willem jongman wrote: ↑23 Jul 2021, 1:05pm
Any news yet on the compatibility of the UK Covid pass and the EU one? The latter is now almost completely functional in most EU countries, and will be increasingly mandatory.
Compatible. Just a question of them having the NHS public encryption key in their apps. All the vaccination data is held in the 2D bar code with no online lookup and database sharing required.
ossie wrote: ↑2 Jul 2021, 11:59am
I see the EMA doesn't recognise a version of the AZ vaccine made in India. I've just checked my card I've received one of the batches concerned. Hopefully a minor hiccup .
I'm surprised that there hasn't been more on 'acceptable' vaccines. Us Brits only seem to have problems with the Indian AZ one, but there are many other vaccines that aren't internationally approved; or mixes; or length between; etc.
I believe Sinovac isn't approved and it is one of the most widely used, although a number of Asian countries are now moving away from it. The Russian one (Sputnik) also isn't internationally approved.
This means there will be millions of people trying to move around the world and to Europe with their 2 jabs that aren't recognised. This could be a far bigger problem than whether a vaccine passport is acceptable.........and we haven't even got onto the problem of forged documentation.
From the point of view of protecting one's population it is relevant that the vaccines that people have had to make it harmless to allow them into your country are actually effective. There are real and legitimate concerns about the Sinovac vaccine, given the experience in Chile and Indonesia. Sputnik is a different story, as there are no indications that I know of that it is not effective. Here Russia simply did not submit the data that would be required.
As of the coming weekend most restrictions in the Netherlands will be lifted in return for the use of the digital pass in bars, restaurants and other public places. The Netherlands have warned the UK that people from the UK may have to get tested every day until the NHS app becomes compatible with the EU one. Apparently this will happen in the near future, but should have been done ages ago, of course.
the other is fine