You don’t see the AstraZeneca vaccine being used in the United States, partly because they messed up their trial testing data and partly because of questions about blood clots showing up in some patients. But it’s been approved in Europe and other nations for quite a while now. Many people in Europe and Africa have been receiving those doses and plan to use their vaccinated status to obtain an immunity passport and travel to European vacation destinations this summer. But some of them are now finding out that they still won’t qualify. It’s not only a question of whether or not you received your AstraZeneca vaccine but where your vaccine was produced. If your vaccine was produced in Europe, you will supposedly be fine. But if your dose was cooked up in India, it has not yet been given approval for distribution, and the European drug regulatory agency will not accept it as proof of vaccination for travel purposes. (Associated Press)

After Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor and his wife received two doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in Nigeria, they assumed they would be free to travel this summer to a European destination of their choice. They were wrong.

The couple — and millions of other people who have been vaccinated through a U.N.-backed effort — could find themselves barred from entering many European and other countries because those nations don’t recognize the Indian-made version of the vaccine for travel.

Although AstraZeneca vaccine produced in Europe has been authorized by the continent’s drug regulatory agency, the same shot manufactured in India hasn’t been given the green light.

We’ve seen our fair share of questions being raised in the United States about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but it’s nothing compared to the issues that AstraZeneca has faced. First of all, even with the European version that was approved over there, the efficacy rate was pretty low compared to any of the three available versions in America. Then it was put on hold more than once amid reports of serious blood clots affecting patients who received it.

This question about the country of origin for the vaccines is a new twist, however. The EU regulators are saying that the company hasn’t filled out and submitted the correct paperwork for the factory in India, including production practices and quality control standards. They also haven’t detailed their trial testing results sufficiently. Those are the exact same issues that came up when they tried to get emergency authorization in the United States. Even if the vaccine is just fine, they clearly have some management issues to take care of.

At the same time, however, aspiring travelers have every reason to cry foul here. If the European Union regulators are refusing to approve the Indian factory, why did the WHO approve it? And why are they shipping the Indian-made doses to people all over Africa and Southeast Asia? Either the vaccine is safe and effective or it’s not.

Some of these same critics are also raising the point that these conflicting guidelines regarding AstraZeneca’s product will only further undermine people’s confidence in the quality and safety of the vaccines, leading to even more people refusing to get the shot. And if you follow the international headlines regularly, you probably already know that AstraZeneca’s reputation inside of Europe is pretty much hot garbage at this point.

The EU now has its digital immunity passport system up and running. Anyone with proof of having received an approved vaccine will be able to freely travel through all 27 member nations. But they’re not accepting any vaccines made in Russia or China, nor almost anywhere else for that matter. You have to have either one of the three approved in the United States or the version of AstraZeneca manufactured in Europe. Other than that, you’ll need to take your tourist money elsewhere.