Mumbai: Students headed abroad hunt for Covishield now

Students headed abroad by the end of August for higher studies are in a bind with universities demanding they be vaccinated with Covishield mdash the only antiCovid19 shot globally approved by the WHO With a long gap between two doses and a shortage in supply they wonder if they will be immunised before flying out Then there is another lot of worried students who took Covaxin which doesnrsquot have the WHO nod yet They now wonder whatrsquos nextMihir Damle a Pune resident travelled to Navi Mumbai to get Covishield as his city didnrsquot have available slots for this vaccine He is going to the UK in midAugust for higher studies While he got lucky some others didnrsquotA student receives her first Covid19 shot at Maasaheb Meenatai Thackeray Hospital NerulldquoI wasnrsquot really aware of the importance of the brand of vaccines By chance my sister came across a news article about Indian cricket team having to take Covishield to go abroad for a game because thatrsquos recognised internationally Had she not I would have taken any available vaccinerdquo said Damle who had even thought of going as far as Gwalior Madhya Pradesh for CovishieldAlso Read Students need vax concession clear communicationA recent New York Times article about an Indian student has added to the worries The student had taken Covaxin but was asked by Columbia University to get revaccinated upon arrival on the campus Anisha B who has to head to the US soon said ldquoWe donrsquot know if this taking two different vaccines one after another is safe Covishield has the longest gap between the two doses Many of us are scheduled to leave by the end of AugustrdquoSudhanshu Kaushik of North American Association of Indian StudentsNaman Agrawal who plans to study in Canada tweeted ldquoI was not aware that Covaxin is not recognised internationally I have already taken the first dose This is really frustrating My plan to study abroad was already delayed by a year due to the pandemicrdquoDr Anant Bhan a researcher of Bioethics and Global Health has advised students to not panic and experiment with vaccines due to the confusion ldquoWhether an individual can take a different vaccine after getting fully vaccinated with another or if two vaccines can be mixed and others such aspects are still under research Trials are underway to find that out But until and unless data is available out there it is better not to experiment Instead students should keep calm and wait as most likely Covaxin would acquire the required approval from the WHO in some time The company must be taking serious steps for itrdquo he saidMihir Damle a Pune resident travelled all the way to Navi Mumbai for a Covishield shotSudhanshu Kaushik the executive director of the North American Association of Indian Students puts the blame on the Indian government as well as the respective universitiesldquoAmong the international students in the US Indians are the second largest population And yet policies for students are UScentricrdquo he said adding that partially the blame is also on Indian government ldquoWhen you have such a huge number of outgoing students why not have the foresight and inform the students that Covaxin is not yet approved internationallyrdquo He pointed out that all universities are following the US CDC guidelines which has approved vaccines cleared by the WHOA medic administers a vaccine to a beneficiary at Nair hospital File picAshish RajeSiddharth Ingle president of the Maharashtra Studentsrsquo Union also blamed the central government for the confusion ldquoThey should have informed the students going abroad that Covaxin doesnrsquot have the required approval It did not share such important information while opening vaccination for the 1844 years age grouprdquoGap is the main worryShubhada Chaukar a parent however said the European university her daughter is going for higher studies has time and again told students to refer to the WHOapproved list of vaccines ldquoThe university has been in touch with students And in some of the webinars they clarified that we should press for Covishield But the main issue now is completing both the doses before she takes her flight to EuroperdquoSudhanshu Kaushik executive director North American Association of Indian StudentsAmong politicians trying to resolve the issue is Ashish Shelar from BJP who has written to the Union health ministry ldquoWhile Covaxinrsquos WHO approval is pending it would be great if the Union health ministry issues detailed guidelines and holds consultations with stakeholders to sensitise airlines and foreign universities in this matter so that Covaxin vaccinated students are not at any disadvantagerdquo he saidTweet talkNaman Agrawal who plans to study in CanadalsquoI was not aware that Covaxin is not recognised internationally I have already taken the first dose This is really frustrating My plan to study abroad was already delayed by a year due to the pandemicrsquo