PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Coronavirus Certificates (8 July 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on ensuring that recipients of the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine are treated equitably within international travel arrangements.

Asked by:
Fleur Anderson (Labour)

The Government continues to engage the European Union on certification to ensure that travel between the United Kingdom and the EU is supported by a common approach.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures Vaxzevria and Covishield and both branded vaccines are the same as the COVID-19 Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. All SII-made doses approved by the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and administered in the UK were branded as the ’COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’ which is now known commercially as ‘Vaxzeveria’. The MHRA has not approved doses branded as ‘Covishield’ and none have been administered in the UK. All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised Vaxzevria vaccine and it is therefore recognised by EU.

Answered by:
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative)
14 July 2021