WHO grants emergency use licence to Covaxin

 

 

 

IN A major development, the WHO on Wednesday said that it has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. This comes after the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent advisory committee of WHO recommended EUL status for Covaxin. “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,” the global health body said in a tweet. Dr Poonam Khetarpal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South East Asia, in a tweet, said, “Congratulations India for Emergency Use Listing of its indigenously produced COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin.” “The Technical Advisory Group of WHO has recommended Emergency Use Listing status for Covaxin,” a source told PTI before the WHO announcement.

 

The TAG on October 26 had sought “additional clarifications” from the company for Covaxin to conduct a final “risk-benefit assessment” for Emergency Use Listing of the vaccine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the G20 summit recently. The TAG-EUL is an independent advisory group that provides recommendations to WHO on whether a COVID-19 vaccine can be listed for emergency use under the EUL procedure. Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant. In June, the company said it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.