ICMR DG asserts WHO's EUL nod for Covaxin allows indigenous vaccines to be used worldwide

Marking it as a great day for the country, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava on Wednesday lauded World Health Organization's (WHO) decision for granting emergency use listing (EUL) to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. He stated that the hard work of scientists and healthcare workers led to the approval which has now opened up the indigenous vaccine for worldwide use. ICMR DG further added that WHO's nod to Covaxin has now opened up the indigenous vaccine for worldwide use.

WHO's EUL approval opens up Covaxin for worldwide use: ICMR DG

"It is a great day for India. It is a classic example of how private-public partnership has been a success in this field. The hard work of scientists and healthcare workers has led to this approval today. This makes India very proud. We should keep up this momentum. With this, the whole world opens up for us, for sending this vaccine. Now that we have administered a large number of vaccine doses, we will be able to send this absolutely indigenous vaccine to the rest of the world",  ICMR DG told ANI.

Significance of WHO's approval for Covaxin 

• The WHO approval for Covaxin will now facilitate international travel for those double jabbed with it to countries where a vaccination certificate for WHO-approved vaccines is mandatory.
• Indians inoculated with Covaxin will not have to take RT-PCR tests or undergo quarantine in countries accepting WHO-approved vaccines. Earlier, Indians, inoculated with Covaxin, travelling abroad had to undergo quarantine on arrival or take the COVID-19 test.
• The approval allows countries to advance their own regular approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines. It should be noted that there is no link between EUL and exports. 
• The EUL also assures the recipient of the vaccine that it is of global standard.

WHO Approves Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

In a major development, the WHO convened Technical Advisory Group (TAG) comprising of regulatory experts from around the globe on Wednesday granted approval for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin. Covaxin was also reviewed by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and recommended the use of the vaccine in two doses, with a dosing interval of 28 days or four weeks in all age groups 18 and above.

Covaxin vaccine

Covaxin, which was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), demonstrated a 78% efficacy rate in clinical testing. It was cleared for emergency use by the Indian government in January this year, but it has yet to be approved by the WHO. The six COVID-19 vaccines that have gained emergency use authorisation from the WHO are the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, and the two versions of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines— one being the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by SK Bio and the Serum Institute of India (SII), and the other - AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm vaccines.