Canada approves Covaxin for travel allowance from November 30

From November 30, tourists completely vaccinated with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin will be allowed entrance into Canada.

Recently, the Canadian government said, “…three additional Covid-19 vaccines approved for use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be accepted for travel to and within Canada.” These include Sinopharm (also referred to as Covilo), Sinovac (also referred to as Coronavac) and Covaxin.

Currently, Canada allows the entry of travellers vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.

Introducing fresh Covid-19 vaccination guidelines, the Canadian government also said, “Starting November 30, 2021, Canadians or individuals who have right of entry, qualify as fully vaccinated travellers and who re-enter Canada within 72 hours of leaving, won’t have to provide a pre-entry molecular test result.”

“This will also apply to their accompanying children under 12, regardless of whether or not the children are vaccinated,” the Canadian government said in its latest advisory.

“To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller, you must have received at least two doses of an accepted vaccine or a mix of two accepted vaccines, or at least one dose of the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson vaccine, at least 14 full days prior to the day you travel,” it said.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin was approved by the WHO for emergency use on November 3. Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant. In June, the company said that it had concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from phase-3 trials.