"Matter Of Time": Adar Poonawalla Says EU May Clear Covishield In A Month

The world's biggest vaccine maker is "quite confident" that the European Medicines Agency will approve the shot in a month, Serum's Chief Executive Office Adar Poonawalla said at the India Global Forum Wednesday.

The Serum Institute of India expects European drug regulators will approve Covishield -- the Covid-19 shot it manufactures in partnership with AstraZeneca Plc -- in a few weeks, paving way for it to be added to the region's 'Green Pass' list. The world's biggest vaccine maker is "quite confident" that the European Medicines Agency will approve the shot in a month, Serum's Chief Executive Office Adar Poonawalla said at the India Global Forum Wednesday. Serum has applied through AstraZeneca, he said, and it was "just a matter of time" since the vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization and the U.K.'s health care regulator. Leaving Serum-made Covishield off the so-called 'Green Pass' list while including Vaxzevria -- European brand name for the same vaccine -- as part of the European Union's vaccine passport initiative triggered a furore in India because it risked barring entry for Indian travelers despite receiving their shots. Nations are racing to inoculate their population, fully reopen their economies and ward off newer virus variants from entering their borders. "It's not a controversy at all," Poonawalla said. "The reason why it was flagged is if we don't address it now, when India gets off the red list and citizens want to travel, they should not be refused in a given country just because they have a Covishield certificate."