What are the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine batch numbers and how to check them? Which EU countries accept Covishield?
The EUs Digital Covid Certificate travel scheme allows travellers to straightforwardly prove their vaccination status and be exempt from quarantining when crossing a European border. But reports surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccines production and eligibility on the EUs scheme have rocked the UK and countries worldwide recently, with many citizens suddenly finding holiday plans potentially put on hold. Sign up to our public interest bulletins - get the latest news on the Coronavirus Sign up to our public interest bulletins - get the latest news on the Coronavirus Sign up now Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Millions in the UK are reportedly unable to travel to EU member states using the Digital Covid Certificate scheme as a means of proof of vaccination and entry, as this only recognises vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). (Image credit: pixabay/PA)  Three batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered in the UK were produced by the Serum Institute of India as Covishield, which is currently not approved by the EMA and therefore not recognised on the Digital Covid Certificate. EU member states can allow entry for people vaccinated with vaccines enrolled on the World Health Organisations Emergency Use Listing process, but some EU countries using the Digital Covid Certificate as a means of determining entry will not accepting Covishield-vaccinated travellers until the Indian vaccine is approved by the EUs regulator. It is thought that up to five million Brits who received jabs from the Indian AstraZeneca batches could risk being barred from holidays in certain EU countries as a result. Malta today (July 14) blocked a British elderly couple who had received vaccines from the Indian-made AstraZeneca batches from entering the country, with the countrys travel guidance stating it would not accept UK travellers into the country if they had been vaccinated from the impacted batches. There are three coronavirus AstraZeneca vaccine batches produced in India (Image: Getty Images)  In Scotland, a cumulative total of 2,128,549 people have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine so far, while for the second dose this figure stands at 1,890,268 as of July 12. Professor Adam Finn, of the UK Government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), described the exclusion of certain batches as an administrative hurdle that needs to be straightened out but added that people should not be concerned that they are in some way less well protected. The AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine was first created in the UK by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca. But while the majority of batches have been produced in the UK, there are three batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, with these made and manufactured under the name Covishield in India. The UK-made version has been identified and sold as Vaxzevria. The Pfizer, UK-made AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are all recognised by the EUs regulator  so those receiving these vaccines are permitted to travel to and across the EU without needing to quarantine the new Digital Covid Certificate travel scheme. If you received an AstraZeneca vaccine dose, you can find out which batch your jab came from by looking on your vaccination card  where the batch number will be indicated alongside the type of vaccine you received and the date of your vaccination. NHS app users in England and Wales can check their batch number on the app, which has been adapted for the purpose of allowing people to show proof of vaccination when travelling. To do so, users can log into the NHS App and locate the details of their vaccination, including batch number, by going to Get your NHS Covid pass and clicking through to their covid-19 records. For those living in Scotland, the COVID-19 Status Helpline can be reached on 0808 196 8565 and a vaccination status letter is also available to request for those travelling abroad by logging into their account with NHS Scotland here. The unique username for this account will have been given to you when you were given your first vaccine dose appointment. The numbers of the Covishield AstraZeneca batches not currently approved by the EMA are 4120Z001, 4120Z002 and 4120Z003. But there is no actual difference between the two AstraZeneca vaccines, with the reason behind Covishields lack of approval by the EU regulator being that the Serum Institute did not initially seek approval in the EU. The Serum Institute has now completed an emergency use listing for Covishield with the World Health Organisation. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Finn added that the batches are "exactly the same stuff". "We're in the early days of this new world of needed vaccine passports and there are lots of aspects of this that are still being sorted out for the first time. "But it's clearly, ultimately not in anyone's interest, including the European Union, to create hurdles that don't need to be there." A European Commission spokesman said that "entry into the EU should be allowed to people fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines authorised in the EU". He added that individual member states could also allow entry for people vaccinated with jabs on WHO's emergency list. "This is the case for Covishield which is not authorised for placing on the market in the EU," he added. There are 15 countries so far which have said they will accept people vaccinated with Covishield. WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan confirmed this in a tweet on July 9, writing 15 countries in EU now recognize #COVISHIELD for travelers. These are the 15 countries accepting Covishield vaccines so far:  Austria Belgium Bulgaria Finland Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Latvia The Netherlands Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland  The European Commission has stressed that the Digital Covid Certificate is not a pre-requisite for European travel, but is rather a tool to allow travel to take place more easily in EU countries where restrictions have been lifted. As well as accepting vaccines listed on WHOs Emergency Listing Process, individual member states can also accept proof of vaccination documentation issued in third countries, so long as this contains information which can identify the person, type of vaccine and date of vaccination. While Maltas travel guidance had previously stated that Brits vaccinated with one of the three Covishield batches in the UK would not be permitted to enter the country, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps claims the travel issue has now been resolved. Mr Shapps appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning (July 14), saying that Brits being turned away from flights to Malta was not right and shouldnt be happening. This afternoon, Mr Shapps tweeted to suggest that the Maltese authorities had performed a U-turn on their refusal to allow entry to those with jabs from the three Indian-made AstraZeneca batches. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday July 2 he saw no reason why people who received Indian-made Covishield vaccines should be left out of vaccine passport schemes after the European Union did not initially recognise it. "I see no reason at all why the MHRA-approved vaccines should not be recognised as part of the vaccine passports and I'm very confident that that will not prove to be a problem," Johnson said at a joint news conference with Angela Merkel. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: People should check the entry requirement for the country they are visiting before travelling. All AstraZeneca vaccines given in Scotland appear on the record of vaccination as Vaxzevria - EU/1/21/1529.  They added: A number of EU countries have already indicated they are happy to accept Scotlands record of vaccination where they want evidence that people have been fully vaccinated as a condition of entry. "We are not aware of any EU countries refusing to accept this statement.  Additional reporting by PA Deputy Political Editor Sam Bewlett  A message from the Editor:  Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.