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Covaxin, along with Covishield, was first deployed by India in January to fight the pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has further delayed the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Covaxin, the Covid vaccine developed in India, as the global body sent more technical questions to its manufacturer Bharat Biotech, according to sources. This delay is likely to negatively affect the international travel plans of Indians, especially students.
Without EUA, Covaxin will not be considered an accepted vaccine by most countries of the world. WHO’s queries regarding Bharat Biotech come despite the Hyderabad-based drug maker claiming to have submitted all the data required for authorization.
The indication of a delay comes just days after the Union Health Ministry hinted that the global body was likely to give the green light anytime soon.
“There is a procedure for submitting documents for approval. The WHO emergency use authorization for Covaxin is expected soon,” EU Minister of State Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Friday. at the Ministry of Health, according to an ANI report.
Earlier, Dr VK Paul, chairman of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration, also said WHO approval for Covaxin would likely come before the end of this month.
According to Bharat Biotech, Phase III clinical trials of Covaxin have shown an efficacy rate of 77.8%.
Covaxin, along with Covishield, was the first vaccine rolled out by India as part of its nationwide massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign launched in January this year. Others, like the Russian-made Sputnik, were not added to the country’s arsenal until later.
Covishield is currently the only vaccine made in India on the WHO list. It is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune and was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
WHO has so far also approved vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Sinopharm.
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