Kuwait: Amid fears among some Indian expats over the approval of the Covishield vaccine in Kuwait, the Indian ambassador to the Gulf country, Sibi George, has clarified that the vaccine, which is the same as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, is recognised in Kuwait.
“For those Indian expats who wish to return to Kuwait should choose AstraZeneca as an option while uploading their vaccination certificates,” the ambassador said.
Sibi George told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai that the AstraZeneca vaccine, made in India, has global recognition and that India sent 200,000 doses of the same vaccine to Kuwait in February.
India’s version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is known as Covishield. The vaccine is developed by UK-based AstraZeneca Laboratories and the University of Oxford, and manufactured by the Serum Institute in India.
“There is no problem for Indian workers returning to Kuwait if their vaccination certificates bear the name of this vaccine,” Al-Rai newspaper quoted George.
There are approximately one million Indians in Kuwait, a country with a population of about 4.8 million.
So far, Kuwait has allowed emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The Kuwaiti government announced on June 26 that it will allow non-residents to enter the country from August 1 if they have been fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Gulf state, local media reported. This comes more than four months after the country had suspended entry of non-nationals.
The ministry of health announced on July 7 that they have so far administered around 2.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Kuwait on Sunday reported 1,490 COVID-19 infections, 1,626 recoveries, 17 deaths.