Many Indian Americans with relatives in India vaccinated with Covaxin anxious about WHO approval
When the White House officials announced earlier this week that the US may soon be lifting Covid travel restrictions from many countries including India, there was bound to be excitement.
“Beginning in early November, foreign nationals flying to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and they must show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a US bound airplane,” Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters virtually.
“It is for the CDC to determine which vaccine is acceptable for entry into the US,” he added in response to a question.
While details on the new travel plan are still being worked out, a question that concerns many Indians in America is – Will Covaxin be among the vaccines accepted for entry into the US?
Read: Pennsylvania-based Ocugen selected to market India’s Covaxin in US (March 2, 2021)
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to CDC.
The CDC also clarified that vaccines listed by the World Health Organization, such as AstraZeneca and Oxford will also be valid.
But when this rule comes into implementation what will be the fate of Covaxin? Developed locally by Bharat Biotech in India, Covaxin has been awaiting WHO approval.
The latest communication from the manufacturer was that they are working diligently on obtaining WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) at the earliest.
When American Bazaar reached out to some Indians on their concerns, while there was a general hope that Covaxin would be accepted, there seemed to be a bit of anxiety about when the approval may come.
Seattle based Neha Singh says, “Covaxin approval may be coming in the next couple of months. Also until now there is no restriction on vaccinated passengers if they complete the quarantine in another country so we would wait for a formal guideline to come.”
Interestingly, some pointed out that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has just concluded a visit to the US has been vaccinated with Covaxin. They thus feel that other Covaxin vaccinated Indians too should be allowed.
Sheela Shah says, “Modi took Covaxin and visited the US. That should be a strong message for approval itself by WHO and should not be a factor for ordinary citizens. Lead by example should apply here too…no?”
Read: Covaxin: The best vaccine you can’t get (July 5, 2021)
While Shah’s sentiment is shared by many, there are some who took the Covaxin jab and are regretting their decision. “Extremely anxious and definitely regretting for trusting Covaxin and not choosing an already approved vaccine,” says P. Bora.
“Their approval is on its way since June-July and keeps getting postponed every time. Lakhs of Indians are stranded for taking Covaxin,” he notes.
“I was supposed to visit my spouse in the US and planned on going through a third country. But now, that won’t be an option either, since vaccination will be mandatory universally.”
“And I don’t have a ‘couple of months’ to spare and wait for the approval to come. So, yes, definitely regretting it,” adds Bora
While at the moment no one is prevented from traveling due to their Covaxin vaccine, some like Rita N. say, “While Modi could travel with a Covaxin jab, we are still waiting to hear if we will be allowed in the future.”
3 Comments
My parents need to travel to US to support my sister post a C section delivery. Due to the travel restrictions in place they were not able and allowed to travel during her pregnancy. The situation now is such that she needs lot of care and help to be able to even get from the bed and even to sit down. She cannot even hold the baby by herself due to to surgery. She needs support even to get up from the bed and walk to the bathroom. Her husband is doing everything alone. Baby care, household work, food etc. The amount of stress they are in is hard to imagine. In such situation, they need help from their parents. I am sure there will many such cases where we are not empathizing with situations in families. I therefore kindly request the government to take an action and ease the travel between India and USA irrespective of the vaccine as long as they are double vaccinated.
You can write to local embassy @nie and obtain urgent healthcare permission to travel. You need to obtain permission from NIE and then you can travel.
My husband and I are apart since March 2020. We are a binational couple settled abroad and were newly married.
After a Long and Excruciating wait my country of residence is finally allowing WHO approved vaccinated individuals to travel and my husband has taken Covaxin and now is imprisoned in India!!! This is a really terrible situation for us as I am unwell as well and really need him here, I am literally paralyzed without him and passing each day with a hell of difficulty.
If WHO is not giving approval, It is Indian govt’s job to find us a solution!!! Our lives are hanging in the balance this is not a joke!! Ministers and others are flying around everywhere while families like mine are stuck apart.
This is negligence, this is a crime, this is a human rights violation of the biggest proportion!!!