We Indians love to outrage. And this week, the target of outrage was the European Union. It began when reports emerged that vaccines being administered in India, the home made Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, and Covishield which is produced by Pune’s Serum Institute and is the exact same formula as Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine, are not recognised by the EU for a “green pass” to travel seamlessly within the bloc.
What is this “green pass”? It is a digital certificate that is meant essentially to help EU citizens and residents move within the EU without any problems.
Before details could emerge, several voices on Twitter were quick to fire the racism gun. On the face of it, the anger was justified. After all, why does the EU recognise a vaccine which is made in the UK but NOT recognise the same formula which is made in India?