Covishield/Astrazeneca Vaccines

[tert333]

Has anyone had one dose of Covishield(AZ manufactured in India) and one dose of Astrazeneca and has cruised?   It is the same vaccine, but is manufactured in India vs. other locations.

 

There are some countries in Europe that does not recognize Covishield.   I am also wondering if some cruise line may consider this a mixed vaccine.

 

 

[mom says]

Didn't I read that WHO has declared them equivalent? If so, individual countries should recognize this. Eventually. No doubt some will drag their feet. As for the cruise lines, I think they have little choice but to follow the rules laid out by the countries they sail from, which is why there's precious little consistency.

[tert333]

11 minutes ago, mom says said:

Didn't I read that WHO has declared them equivalent? If so, individual countries should recognize this. Eventually. No doubt some will drag their feet. As for the cruise lines, I think they have little choice but to follow the rules laid out by the countries they sail from, which is why there's precious little consistency.

Yes,  I have a document from the WHO that I plan to bring with me, that states they are two be treated the same.  However, as you say, it may come down to the country and I am not clear on what the CDC is saying that this time.  Below is the link:

 

https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/considerations-for-optimizing-deployment-of-astrazeneca-azd1222-and-sii-covishield-vaccines-in-a-time-limited-constrained-supply-situation

 

PS> I believe that Italy does not recognize Covishield.

[ilikeanswers]

What WHO issues are essentially suggestions. Countries can use it to guide their policies but in the end the it is not policy itself. A traveller should concern themselves with what the rules are of the country they are travelling to. A cruise going to a country that does not recognise your vaccine is going to have to follow that mandate. As for the cruise lines own policies that is probably best to ask someone from the company if your vaccine is going to be a problem. So far the only thing I have seen cruise lines concerned about is whether you are vaccinated at all not what vaccine you had. 

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

What WHO issues are essentially suggestions. Countries can use it to guide their policies but in the end the it is not policy itself. A traveller should concern themselves with what the rules are of the country they are travelling to. A cruise going to a country that does not recognise your vaccine is going to have to follow that mandate. As for the cruise lines own policies that is probably best to ask someone from the company if your vaccine is going to be a problem. So far the only thing I have seen cruise lines concerned about is whether you are vaccinated at all not what vaccine you had. 

At least carnival, and I believe celebrity, have come out and said they won’t accept mixed doses between different types of vaccines (aka astrazenica and Pfizer), so they do care which vaccines. I believe astrazenica is fine but never heard of covishield. If I were the OP I would bring something that specifically says that The WHO authorized covishield. I believe vaccines authorized by the fda or who are considered ‘ok’. FDA hasn’t authorized either covishield or astrazenica 

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, sanger727 said:

At least carnival, and I believe celebrity, have come out and said they won’t accept mixed doses between different types of vaccines (aka astrazenica and Pfizer), so they do care which vaccines. I believe astrazenica is fine but never heard of covishield. If I were the OP I would bring something that specifically says that The WHO authorized covishield. I believe vaccines authorized by the fda or who are considered ‘ok’. FDA hasn’t authorized either covishield or astrazenica 

Covishield is the brand name for the Astrazenica vaccine manufactured in India. Vaxeveria is the brand name for the same vaccine manufactured in the UK. Apparently the vaccines are identical. Some people in the UK have had the Covishield version but I believe there was no application for approval in the EU as the EU already had sufficient supplies of other vaccines.

 

Having mixed doses will cause a lot of confusion. The UK is planning to start rolling out a booster program perhaps starting in September for those aged 50 or over or with serious medical need. So we will soon end up with 3 doses which may not be the same. They are conducting clinical trials to see if giving a different vaccine as the booster dose gives additional protection.

[ovccruiser]

In the UK, our pieces of paper all said Astra Zenica, however batch numbers 4120Z001, 002 and 003 were produced in India and are the vaccines in question.

[scottbee]

On 8/8/2021 at 9:29 AM, ilikeanswers said:

What WHO issues are essentially suggestions. Countries can use it to guide their policies but in the end the it is not policy itself. A traveller should concern themselves with what the rules are of the country they are travelling to. A cruise going to a country that does not recognise your vaccine is going to have to follow that mandate. As for the cruise lines own policies that is probably best to ask someone from the company if your vaccine is going to be a problem. So far the only thing I have seen cruise lines concerned about is whether you are vaccinated at all not what vaccine you had. 

 

Countries and cruise lines tend to also accept WHO recommendations:

 

To the point that the Celebrity Cruises say:
  "Vaccines that are fully approved or authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organization (WHO) are accepted"

 

The problem isn't the approval, it's somebody not grasping that "AstraZeneca" and "Covishield" are the same thing.

[scottbee]

On 8/8/2021 at 9:29 AM, ilikeanswers said:

What WHO issues are essentially suggestions. Countries can use it to guide their policies but in the end the it is not policy itself. A traveller should concern themselves with what the rules are of the country they are travelling to. A cruise going to a country that does not recognise your vaccine is going to have to follow that mandate. As for the cruise lines own policies that is probably best to ask someone from the company if your vaccine is going to be a problem. So far the only thing I have seen cruise lines concerned about is whether you are vaccinated at all not what vaccine you had. 

Most of the Caribbean countries recognize both UK and the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.  This website keeps it pretty up to date as to what countries have  approved; although almost all EU countries now approve Covishield (AZ/India)

AZ (UK):https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/4/

AZ (India): https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/vaccines/48/

 

The notable exception is the United States (who have approved neither), but have no vaccine requirements to enter.  

[Howasaur]

To Scottbee No matter what WHO says check cruise line on  what the requirements are saying regarding  COVID vaccines. It's their cruise line and they set the rules regarding the Vaccine requirement. We have someone in our party with Astra and second shot Pfizer and after we had called and also our travel agent check that individual isn't vaccinated so can't go no matter what WHO says.

By the way we are all Canadians and five in our party got both  Pfizer the other individual  got mixed per Canadian Government rules.   He is now trying his best to get another shot but has hit a brick wall the federal,  provincial governments are not giving third shots until all Canadians are vaccinated.;

[Howasaur]

Holland America Cruise line: 

To be considered fully vaccinated, you must have received the full series of a US FDA or WHO authorized COVID-19 vaccine or a combination of authorized vaccines and have received your last dose at least 14 days prior to the day of embarkation.

 

For cruises departing the United States, the CDC require both vaccines in a 2-dose series to be of the same type. They also accept mixing mRNA vaccines only (each dose is from either Pfizer and Moderna.) No other combinations are considered fully vaccinated.

Now this can change with reduced cases or increase Covid Our Travel agent says check month by month for the cruise line you are going to cruise on. Our next cruise is April 2022 Hoping final decision  and payment date January 20 22 so we will see.

[scottbee]

On 8/13/2021 at 6:59 PM, Howasaur said:

To Scottbee No matter what WHO says check cruise line on  what the requirements are saying regarding  COVID vaccines. It's their cruise line and they set the rules regarding the Vaccine requirement. We have someone in our party with Astra and second shot Pfizer and after we had called and also our travel agent check that individual isn't vaccinated so can't go no matter what WHO says.

By the way we are all Canadians and five in our party got both  Pfizer the other individual  got mixed per Canadian Government rules.   He is now trying his best to get another shot but has hit a brick wall the federal,  provincial governments are not giving third shots until all Canadians are vaccinated.;

 

You're missing the subtlety here. 

 

[Pfizer] BNT162b2 is a completely different formulation from [Moderna] mRNA-1273.

 

Whereas [Serum Institute of India/Covidshield] AZD1222 is the same formulation as [Oxford/AstraZeneca] AZD1222.  It's the exact same vaccine, just made in different factories, and sold under different trade names.

[ilikeanswers]

15 minutes ago, scottbee said:

You're missing the subtlety here. 

 

[Pfizer] BNT162b2 is a completely different formulation from [Moderna] mRNA-1273.

 

Whereas [Serum Institute of India/Covidshield] AZD1222 is the same formulation as [Oxford/AstraZeneca] AZD1222.  It's the exact same vaccine, just made in different factories, and sold under different trade names.

 

It doesn't really matter if the formula is the same, policy wise they are being regarded as different and therefore needing individual approval. That is why it is better to check the policies of the countries you are travelling to and the cruise lines you will be travelling with. 

[scottbee]

I received this from Celebrity this morning (after another phone call, and insisting I got an email confirmation).   For those with a Covishield/AZ mix, this is great news from Celebrity.

 

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Everyone,

 

Please Note that AstraZeneca and Covishield are one in the same – both are AstraZeneca. This combination is NOT considered a mixed dose and is accepted for sailing so long as the guest is fully vaccinated and received their second dose at least 14 days prior to sailing.

 

 

XXXXXX XXXXX

Celebrity Cruises Reservation Representative

Celebrity Cruises  |  Trade Sales & Support

email: XXXXXXX@celebrity.com

Consumer Website: http://www.celebritycruises.com
Travel Partner Website: http://www.cruisingpower.com
Servicing Phone Number: 800-437-3111

[cmrvancouver]

It looks like NCL has updated its policy re mixed vaccines and AZ/Covishield. Good news.

[tert333]

I thought I would reach out to Celebrity and also get something in writing in regards to a person who had a covishield and then an astrazeneca shot.  I used the chat function so I could record the response.  Here was their response:

 

The guest can have two doses of the following in this situation (this is not to the exclusion of the other brands in the chart), just to add clarity for AstraZeneca and Covishield:

Two Astra Zeneca
Two Astra Zeneca Covishield
Two Covishield
It has to be two of the same product. AstraZeneca Covishield is a product and Covishield alone is a product.

 

The response was not what I expected...

I don't understand why this has to be so difficult. 

[mom says]

That makes no sense whatsoever. And that's why I never trust chats or info from the drones manning the cruise line general phones