Vaccine nationalism is ‘a bit of a minefield’ which could lead to discrimination against people of ‘certain nationalities’.
A British couple has been barred from boarding a flight to Malta by their own government despite being fully vaccinated. They received two doses of Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.
Despite being chemically identical to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and approved by the UK’s health regulatory body, the World Health Organization and 15 European Union nations, Europeans vaccinated with Covishield do not have the same rights as those vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
There’s another problem: AstraZeneca has still not been approved by the US’s Food and Drug Administration, limiting quarantine-free travel into the United States. Australians fully vaccinated with either with Pfizer or AstraZeneca still have to undergo 10 days of self-isolation when entering some EU countries.
Will certain people of certain nationalities be given short shrift? Read on.
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