Norway has become the tenth country among the EU and Schengen Area countries to recognise the Sinovac vaccine as valid proof of immunity, meaning that all those who have been vaccinated with the jab will no longer be subject to entry rules.
According to a press release that was issued by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, all travellers who have been vaccinated with Sinovac, which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing, will have the same relief from the self-isolation requirement as those who have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines that are already recognised by the country’s authorities.
Consequently, this means that all vaccination certificates that show that the holder has been immunised against the COVID-19 disease with Sinovac are now equivalent to those showing proof of vaccination with one of the jabs approved by the European Medicines Agency, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
However, the authorities have emphasised that the vaccination certificate that indicates full vaccination with Sinovac must include a QR, which permits them to check the document based on the rules of the EU.
“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’s statement reads.
In addition, except for being exempt from the quarantine rules, travellers who have been vaccinated with Sinovac, as well as those who have recovered from the virus during the last six months, can enter Norwegian territory without being required to fill in the entry form.
Similar to Norway, nine other EU/Schengen Area countries also recognise Sinovac as valid proof of immunity. Based on the data provided by the vaccine-checker tool developed by VisaGuide.World, which enables travellers worldwide to check the validity of their vaccine, the following countries recognise Sinovac:
Austria
Cyprus
Finland
Greece
Iceland
The Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland.
Apart from the countries mentioned above, five other countries that are located in the European continent also accept the Sinovac vaccine:
Albania
Armenia
Georgia
Macedonia
Serbia.
Moreover, except for the Sinovac vaccine that has just recently been added to the list of recognised vaccines, Norway already allows restriction-free entry to all those vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine– AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen.
Earlier, when the vaccination certificates started being fully functional, the Norwegian authorities underlined that more than one week should have passed since the last dose was taken for a person to be considered fully vaccinated.
As for the certificate’s validity, it was noted that its technical validity is limited to a maximum of 90 days.
Previously, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that Norway now also recognises the Indian-made Covishield vaccine.
