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By Alasdair Pal and Sanjeev Miglani
NEW DELHI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - India's foreign minister on
Tuesday urged Britain to remove a rule requiring Indians
visiting there to quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated.
India's Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca
and manufactured in India by Pune-based Serum Institute, is not
recognised by Britain under new rules despite being identical to
the doses given to millions of Britons.
The rules, that come into effect next month, have caused
anger, with many Indians branding the decision as
discriminatory. Britons vaccinated in the United Kingdom with
the same Indian-made doses are not required to quarantine.
They could also lead to a retaliation from New Delhi, with
Indian government sources saying it was likely to take
reciprocal steps if the issue is not quickly resolved.
"Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual
interest," Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a
tweet after a meeting with his British counterpart Liz Truss in
New York, where both are attending the United Nations General
Assembly.
The British High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said the
United Kingdom was working with India to resolve the issue.
"We are engaging with the Government of India to explore how
we could expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to
people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India," a
spokesperson said.
The rules, that mandate 10 days of self-isolation for
travellers arriving from India, also apply to many other
countries using Covishield, including most African ones.
Shashi Tharoor, an Indian opposition lawmaker and author,
said on Monday he had cancelled a planned book tour of Britain
in protest against the rules.
"It is offensive to ask fully vaccinated Indians to
quarantine," he said.
A second lawmaker, Jairam Ramesh, said the decision "smacks
of racism".
AstraZeneca is one of the key providers to Britain's
vaccination program, along with U.S. peers Moderna and
Pfizer.
The AstraZeneca vaccine makes up most of the doses given to
Indians to date. A smaller number have taken an indigenous
vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, which is not in use in
Britain.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi,
Editing by Angus MacSwan)
