Norway Now Recognises Covishield & Sinovac as Valid Proof of Immunity for Travel

Travellers who have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 disease with the Indian-made Covishield vaccine and with the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine will no longer be subject to the COVID-19 entry rules, the Norwegian authorities have revealed.

Such a decision has been announced by the Ministry of Health and Care Services and started being effective today, October 5, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry, all persons who have been vaccinated with one of the two vaccines that are already part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing will have the same relief from the quarantine requirement as those who have been vaccinated with a vaccine approved by European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“People who have been vaccinated with two vaccines on the WHO’s emergency use list receive the same relief in entry quarantine as people vaccinated with EMA-approved vaccines,” the statement of the Ministry reads.

This means that all vaccination certificates that indicate the holder has been vaccinated with Covishield or Sinovac vaccine are considered equivalent to those approved by EMA. However, it has been emphasised that the vaccination certificate must include a QR code, which allows the country’s authorities to check the document in line with the EU’s rules.

“It is a prerequisite that travellers have a corona certificate that can be checked using a QR code in accordance with the EU’s solution for corona certificates,” the Ministry added.

Besides being exempt from the quarantine requirement, travellers who have been vaccinated with one of the two vaccines, as well as those who have recovered from the disease during the last six months, can enter Norway without being required to fill in the entry registration form.

In addition, vaccinated and recovered travellers are also exempt from the testing rules, regardless of the country they are travelling from.

Except for the two vaccines that have been newly recognised, Norway already allows restriction-free entry to all those vaccinated with AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty), Moderna (Spikevax), and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen).

Apart from recognising the vaccination and recovery certificates issued by EU and Schengen Area countries, Norway also recognises certificates issued by 15 third countries, which are as follows:

• Albania
• Faroe Islands
• Israel
• Morocco
• Northern Macedonia
• Panama
• San Marino
• Scotland
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• Vatican City State
• England
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Previously, the Norwegian authorities announced that starting from tomorrow, October 6, the country will open all of its border crossing points. In addition, the country has also made changes regarding the testing rules.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3iAGDNe