Delay in Covaxin's approval, WHO awaits crucial info
Until Covaxin gets an emergency use authorisation from WHO it cannot get widespread acceptability as a safe and effective vaccine around the world.
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is yet to be included in the WHO COVID-19 vaccine Emergency Use Listing and the global health agency has cited reasons for it. As per the World Health Organisation, it is waiting for an additional piece of information from the Hyderabad-based biotechnology company before it evaluates the vaccine.
The World Health Organisation has written series of tweets from its official Twitter handle regarding this matter. "We must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective," the WHO said. WHO also underlined the procedure of attaining EUL and how it is significant for the manufacturing company to submit data within a time frame for its evaluation.
Until Covaxin gets an emergency use authorisation from WHO it cannot get widespread acceptability as a safe and effective vaccine around the world. Covaxin's emergency use listing would encourage other countries to ease travel measures for those vaccinated with the India-made vaccine.
The delay in India's indigenous vaccine getting emergency use authorisation is because WHO has raised some more questions on Covaxin and the queries have been sent to Bharat Biotech for further clarification.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation Chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Sunday said that the technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to decide on the emergency use listing of Covaxin. Swaminathan further stated that the WHO's goal is to have a broad portfolio of vaccines approved for emergency use and to expand access to populations everywhere.