Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his officials are having with their counterparts in the European Commission on potential travel restrictions for UK citizens who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.

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

The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures Vaxzevria and Covishield and both branded vaccines are the same as the University of 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 ‘Vaxzevria’. 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 the EU.