Australia's top medical regulator Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Friday approved the Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactured Covishield vaccine for incoming international travellers, a step that restores the possibility of facilitating return of thousands of Indian students to that ♑country.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's office declared that the Therapꦐeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has advised that Coronavac (Sinovac) and Covishield should be considered൩ as "recognised vaccines" for the purpose of determining incoming international travellers as being appropriately vaccinated.
It said Australia is ready to take i❀ts next steps to safely reopen to ꦆthe world, with changes coming to the international border.
"Our government is setting out 🦋the framework for how international travel will look in coming months," it said.
It is not immediately clear whether the TGA's approval for Covishield will facilitate immediate travel to Australia by Indian students waiting to return to that country or whether certain changes ♕will have to be made to the existing protocols for the entry of foreign nationals into the country.
The TGA is Australia's medicines and m꧅edical devices regulator.
"Today, the TGA has published its initial assessment of the data on the protection offered by the Coronavac (Sinovac) and Covishield (AstraZeneca/Serum Institute of India) vaccines and has advised that these vaccines should be considered as 'recognised vaccines' for the purpose of determining incoming international travellers as being appropriately vaccinate🥀d," the Australian Prime Minister's Office (PMO)said in a statement.
It said declaring certain COVID-19 vaccines as 'recognised vaccines' ꦕis separate to a regulatory decision 𒆙on whether they are approved for use for vaccination in Australia, which has not been made by the TGA.
"The recognition of these two additional vaccines is a major milestone towar﷽ds more Australians vaccinated overseas getting home sooner," the statement said.
"In coming weeks, the Minister for Health will consider updates to the Biosecurity Act Emergency d🃏eterminations to facilitate some of these changes for fully vaccinated Australian travellers as we move forward on the National Plan to get Australia ba🐎ck to normal and reopen our country safely," it said.
The Australian PMO said that the government will finalise in the coming weeks the processes for people to be able to show their vaccination st🍒atus if they have had a TGA recognised vaccine.
"People who have received vaccines not recognised by t⭕he TGA, or who are unvaccinated, will be required to undertake 14 days of managed quarantine on arrival," it said.
