Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Johnson: India AstraZeneca vaccines will not be a problem in EU

PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson on Friday (2) said he saw no reason why people who received Indian-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines should be left out of vaccine passport schemes after the European Union did not initially recognise it.

About five million people in Britain are thought to have had the vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India, known as Covishield.


"I see no reason at all why the MHRA-approved vaccines should not be recognised as part of the vaccine passports and I'm very confident that that will not prove to be a problem," Johnson said at a joint news conference with Angela Merkel, referring to Britain's medicines regulator.

Millions of vaccines administered in the UK are yet to qualify for the EU’s vaccine passport scheme since they have been manufactured in India and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet authorised them, The Telegraph reported.

The situation could see several Britons getting rejected at EU border crossings once the batch numbers on their vaccines are checked digitally. The EU Digital Covid Certificate, which was launched on Thursday (1), is designed to make safe travel across the continent in times of the Covid-19 pandemic. It doesn’t recognise Covishield, the version of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India in Pune, Maharashtra, since it has not received approval in Europe yet.

The Department of Health has not revealed how many of the India-made vaccine doses have been administered in the UK, but the UK has seen nearly five million doses of this vaccine having been administered and they are identifiable by vaccine batch numbers (4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003) that are included on the recipients’ vaccine cards and in the Covid travel pass available via the UK’s NHS app, The Telegraph said.

India Serum Institute chief expressed confidence

Earlier this week, Serum Institute of India’s chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said on Wednesday (30) they were confident of getting approval from the EMA for Covishield. According to him, the issue of vaccine passports should be on the basis of reciprocity between countries.

“The EMA is absolutely correct in asking us to apply, which we have through AstraZeneca, our partners, a month ago, and that process has to take its time. An approval process even with UK MHRA, WHO took its time and we have applied to the EMA,” Poonawalla, who moved to London in May after allegedly facing threatening calls from powerful people in India, said.

According to The Telegraph report, there is no indication yet that the Indian-manufactured jab is substandard. The EMA has not authorised it only because the Indian makers have not yet sought a license for the product in Europe since the Indian firm manufacturing Covishield aims to predominantly supply to low- and middle-income countries.

Experts though feel that the issue is likely to be resolved if and when the EMS formally authorises Covishield jab in Europe.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate allows those who are either fully vaccinated, recently tested or recovered from Covid-19 to cross borders within the EU without having to serve quarantine or undertake extra coronavirus tests upon arrival. But only vaccines approved by the EMA are included, though individual member states are free to accept other vaccines as well. Nine European countries have given approval for Covishield amid a tussle between India and the EU over ‘green pass’ for Covid vaccines.

The vaccines approved by EMA are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and the version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in the UK or Europe, is sold under the brand name Vaxzevria.

More For You

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches

The chain had also gained a following for its themed brunches

iStock

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches after 20 years

Key points

  • Chinese dim sum restaurant Ping Pong has closed all its UK locations
  • The chain made the announcement via social media
  • Founded in 2005, the brand thanked customers and staff for their support
  • Loyal diners shared memories and disappointment in the comments

All branches are permanently closed

Chinese restaurant chain Ping Pong has permanently closed all its branches in the UK, the company confirmed in a social media announcement.

Founded in 2005 by restaurateur Kurt Zdesar, the dim sum chain had become popular for its stylish interiors, creative menus, and Asian-inspired cocktails. The company did not provide prior notice of the closure but said the decision marked the end of an “unforgettable” 20-year journey.

Keep ReadingShow less
New Covid strain

Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain

iStock

New Covid strain Stratus spreads in UK with unusual hoarse voice symptom

Key points

  • A new Covid strain known as Stratus is spreading across the UK
  • The variant is marked by a distinctive symptom: a hoarse or raspy voice
  • Sub-variants XFG and XFG.3 now account for 30% of cases in England
  • Experts say there is no evidence of more severe disease
  • Lower immunity levels may make more people vulnerable to infection

Covid variant Stratus on the rise in the UK

A new strain of Covid-19, known as Stratus, is spreading across the UK and drawing attention for its unusual symptom — a hoarse or raspy voice. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Stratus and its two sub-variants, XFG and XFG.3, are responsible for around 30 per cent of Covid cases in England.

Of the two, XFG.3 is currently the more dominant. The UKHSA confirmed that monitoring of all circulating Covid-19 variants is ongoing as part of regular surveillance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Human brain continues forming neurons

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain

iStock

Human brain continues forming neurons well into old age, study finds

Key points

  • New neurons continue forming in the brain’s hippocampus into old age
  • Study confirms presence of neural progenitor cells in adults
  • DNA carbon dating and single-nucleus RNA sequencing were used
  • Research shows variation in neuron production between individuals
  • Findings could aid treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders

Human brain shows ongoing neuron formation into older age

A new study has confirmed that the human brain continues to produce new nerve cells well into late adulthood, challenging previous assumptions about age-related decline in neurogenesis. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide fresh insight into how adaptable the brain remains over a lifetime.

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain, is known to occur in the hippocampus — a region involved in memory. While previous research has suggested that this process continues throughout life, there has been limited concrete evidence of the presence of neural progenitor cells in the adult brain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kent County Show 2025

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley

Getty Images

Kent County Show opens with royal visit from Duchess of Edinburgh

Key points:

  • Day one of the Kent County Show begins at Detling Showground near Maidstone
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh visits the event for the first time in 16 years
  • Organisers expect up to 70,000 visitors over the weekend
  • Farming and rural life are at the centre of the three-day programme
  • Highlights include live camel racing, equine sports, livestock displays and more

Kent County Show opens with royal visit

The Kent County Show returned to Detling near Maidstone on Friday, marking the start of a major three-day celebration of farming, food, and rural living. The event opened with a special visit from the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is attending for the first time in 16 years.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley near Tunbridge Wells and serves as patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), met with farmers, equine exhibitors, and local businesses on her tour of the showground.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Aurobindo

Heehs’s biography is grounded in extensive archival research across France, England, India and Israel

AMG

Sri Aurobindo and the rise of the Asian century

Dinesh Sharma

My friend and colleague, the American historian Peter Heehs, who has lived in Pondicherry, India, for decades, recently published a compelling new biography, The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Collaborator (2025). Heehs previously authored The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008), which remains one of the most balanced and scholarly accounts of Aurobindo’s life.

According to Heehs, most previous biographies of the Mother were written for devotees and relied on secondary sources, often presenting her as a divine incarnation without critical engagement. “Such biographies are fine for those who see the Mother as a divine being,” Heehs said, “but they can be off-putting for readers who simply want to understand her life – as an artist, writer, spiritual teacher, and founder of the Ashram and Auroville.”

Keep ReadingShow less