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The move came after New Delhi said Britain’s decision not to recognize the Indian vaccine Covishield was “discriminatory”.
In response to similar measures taken by Indian nationals, fully vaccinated British nationals arriving in India will be forced to quarantine for 10 days.
The move came after Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, called the British decision not to recognize AstraZeneca’s Indian version of Covishield as a “discriminatory” decision. If London fails to reconsider, he has warned against taking reciprocal measures.
Starting Monday, all UK arrivals-regardless of their vaccination status-must have a negative COVID-19 test up to 72 hours before departure, a second test on arrival, and a third test eight days later test.
A Foreign Ministry official told the Associated Press that a 10-day quarantine period will also be enforced.
The British government announced last month that it will allow fully vaccinated travelers to skip quarantine and reduce testing, but only receive vaccinations approved by the US, UK or European plans or plans authorized by approved health agencies.
More than a dozen countries in Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East are on the list, but India’s plan is not included. Similarly, no plans have been accepted on the African continent.
The vast majority of Indians have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine made in India, which is produced by the Serological Institute of India. Others received COVAXIN, a vaccine produced by an Indian company and not used in the UK.
India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, announced earlier this week that it would resume donating excess coronavirus vaccines after freezing exports due to a surge in domestic infections.
Britain’s refusal to accept certain vaccine certificates has led to fears that it might exacerbate vaccine hesitation.
Countries that have received hundreds of thousands of doses of AstraZeneca from the British government don’t know why their vaccination plans are not good enough in the eyes of their providers.
The United Kingdom is one of the worst performing countries in the COVAX program, through which industrialized countries redistribute vaccines to poorer countries.
Rob Yates, director of the Global Health Program at the Chatham Institute think tank in London, told the Associated Press that British policy “shows a lack of unity between government and politicians.”
“Unfortunately, we see tit for tat. As far as human nature is concerned, for us, all of this is something we want to avoid,” Yates said. “We want more cooperation.”
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