Center Issues Vaccination SOPs to People For People Travelling Abroad for Work, Studies

The government of India yesterday issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for COVID-19 vaccines, and in particular, the second dose of vaccine. This is for the people who are planning to travel abroad to work, study, or as a part of India’s contingent for the Tokyo Olympic Games. According to the SOPs, international travelers will be required to link their CoWIN certificates to their passports. This has come after the government received many requests from people looking to travel abroad for the same reasons.  

It will be sufficient for people to mention “Covishield” as a vaccine type. As per the notification received by the central government, the schedule of the Covishield vaccine under the National COVID-19 vaccination strategy is to administer the second dose at 12-16 weeks intervals, i.e. after 84 days, after the first dose, on the basis of NEGVAC’s recommendations. NEGVAC is the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19. 

In order to provide complete COVID-19 vaccination coverage and to facilitate international travel for genuine reasons, the government has directed that the procedure given below should be followed for the second dose of vaccine for students who have to undertake foreign travel to study, for people who want to work abroad, and athletes, sportspersons, and accompanying staff of Indian contingent attending International Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo. 

The competent authority will be designated in every district by the states or UT governments and it will check the following before according permission for the administration of the second dose 84 days after the first dose: 

• Whether 28 days have passed after the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
• How genuine is the reason to travel abroad? It will be considered on the basis of documents related to admission offers or associated formal communications, if a person was already studying in a foreign institution and has to return to continue education, interview calls for job, offer letters for job, nomination for Tokyo Olympic Games.   
• It is recommended that vaccination may be availed through passport, as it is the most permissible ID documents according to the current guidelines. This is because the passport number is mentioned in the certificate. In case the passport is not used at the time of the first dose, then the details of the photo ID card used will be printed on the certificate. 
• Wherever necessary, the authority may issue another certificate linking the passport with the vaccination certificate of the beneficiary. 

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.