During this time, I had to do two RT-PCR tests on the second and eighth days after arrival. These tests had to be booked online before I left India and cost me around £ 200 (20,000 rupees). An additional test on the fifth day after arrival would have cost more, but would have enabled my isolation to end prematurely.

As an avid supporter of the ongoing pandemic, I knew how well Public Health England was handling it in the UK. I also learned a lot from their detailed and regular scientific and evidence-based reports. All of the travel information and requirements on the UK government websites were perfectly clear. But the scenes I witnessed at Heathrow Airport were scandalous to say the least.

Although the mandatory signs for a 2-meter separation were in place, around 800 people crowded the immigration hall. It took me five hours to clear up immigration. Anyone traveling to the UK these days fills out a passenger search form up to 48 hours prior to departure, making it a breeze to adjust capacity to load. Only five immigration windows were open, causing delays. Somebody clearly overlooked this and put everyone in this room at risk.

The Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is manufactured under two trade names – Vaxzevria and Covishield. It’s the same product made in different locations. Covishield is made by the Serum Institute of India and is the main vaccine in India’s vaccination campaign. Of the approximately 837 million doses dispensed in India at the time of this writing, Covishield contributed to approximately 737 million (or 88 percent) doses.

Approximately 5 million doses of Covishield have also been used to vaccinate people in the UK, and millions more doses have been donated or sold to other countries and to COVAX, an international partnership that is making it easier for low and middle income earners to access Covid-19 vaccines Countries.

Then why are people vaccinated with two doses of Covishield in India not considered to be equivalent to those who received the same vaccine elsewhere?

How is Vaxzevria superior to Covishield?

Vaccine efficacy studies by Public Health England and independent researchers in the UK and India show similar levels of protection from symptomatic infection, serious illness and mortality for the two products.

Of course, there must be another reason.

Indian media reports quoted the UK government as saying that “Indian vaccine certification does not meet the minimum criteria for approval”.

While it is possible that a very small fraction of the over 800 million doses administered in India are based on false certificates, who would believe that a country that is a major supplier of children’s vaccines around the world has a robust universal vaccination program and has carried out massive vaccination campaigns to eradicate polio over the years, would such a drive be pursued?

Politics is not made for exceptional situations and therefore this policy is wrong. To quote a friend who has retired from the highest rank in the Indian administrative service, “to assume that something is wrong with the certificate itself without pointing out the deficiency is incredibly stupid”.

There were other ways to approach this. Just as it requires a health check-up for students and workers applying for a visa, the UK government could have worked with designated vaccination centers in Indian cities. The certification thing seems to be an afterthought.

In one of the prime-time television debates I attended this week, a panelist suggested that in retaliation, India should ask travelers from the UK to isolate themselves for 21 days. You can’t handle ridiculous situations by being even more ridiculous. They sort them on the basis of evidence and through silent diplomacy.

Enough energy has already been put into this matter. Unfortunately, most of it is heat with very little light.

Covid-19 is a public health problem caused by a virus. Let’s talk about science, not politics.

Shahid Jameel is one of India’s foremost virologists and a fellow at Oxford University. India, along with Britain, has taken up the issue strongly, but there has been no major change in British politics.