COVAXIN gets WHO approval for emergency use listing
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to COVAXIN. The Technical Advisory Group of WHO made the recommendation earlier in the day. COVAXIN is India's first indigenous vaccine against the coronavirus and is one of the six vaccines that have been approved by the country's drug regulator. Here are more details on this.
WHO confirms the news
"WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of COVID-19," according to an official statement from the global health body.
Why does it matter?
COVAXIN's nod will help the vaccine gain wider acceptance around the world. It will allow its developer Bharat Biotech to start widely exporting the vaccine and let people fully vaccinated with the jab travel abroad without facing quarantine and other restrictions. Notably, many Indians, especially students who received this vaccine, have been facing issues in traveling abroad.
Bharat Biotech's long wait for approval
Bharat Biotech had submitted the request for WHO's emergency use approval on April 19, meaning the process took more than six months. Last month, the WHO had held several meetings to discuss COVAXIN's approval. However, the global health body had sought more technical data from the company to conduct a final "risk-benefit assessment."
COVAXIN is 78% effective
COVAXIN is India's second most prevalent coronavirus vaccine and has been found nearly 78% effective. It has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) National Institute of Virology (NIV). As of November 3, over 12 crore doses of COVAXIN have been administered to the eligible population across India.
8 vaccines approved by WHO
With the latest nod, WHO has given its EUL to eight COVID-19 vaccines. They include the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Johnson and Johnson's (J&J) vaccine, two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Moderna's shot, and China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. The EUL is a risk-based procedure that considers vaccines for assessment and listing. The process also includes therapeutics and in-vitro diagnostics.
