Covaxin decision date 'to be confirmed', says WHO
1 min read 20 Jul 2021, 10:48 AM ISTIn an update on its website, the WHO said the date for a decision on Covaxin jab is yet 'to be confirmed'
PremiumHyderabad: The World Health Organisation is likely to approve India’s only indigenously developed vaccine in use so far, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, for an emergency use listing soon. In an update on its website, the WHO, which began rolling data on July 6, said the date for a decision on the jab is yet "to be confirmed".
As per WHO guidelines, emergency use listing (EUL) is a procedure to streamline the process in which new products can be approved and used during public health emergencies like a pandemic.
Vaccines under evaluation
As of now, the WHO has approved Covid vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm for emergency use.
Suchitra Ella, joint managing director of Bharat Biotech, had recently said the EUL process is a step closer to the final decision on Covaxin's 'global acceptance' as the rolling data was slated to begin in July.
On June 30, Suchitra Ella tweeted that the company is working closely with WHO for emergency listing.
"We are working closely with the World Health Organisation for inclusion of Covaxin in its Emergency Use Listing. Approval from WHO is not expected to be a long drawn process as the cell line and majority of our facilities have already been audited and approved by WHO for our other vaccines in the past," Ella tweeted.
Covaxin’s efficacy result
India’s first indigenously developed vaccine, Covaxin, has demonstrated efficacy of 77.8% against symptomatic Covid-19 and 93.4% against severe disease. Bharat Biotech, its manufacturer, has announced its phase 3 clinical trials, which is yet to be peer-reviewed.
“Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 77.8% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, through evaluation of 130 confirmed cases, with 24 observed in the vaccine group versus 106 in the placebo group. Efficacy analysis demonstrates Covaxin to be 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic Covid-19," the manufacturer said in a paper published in open access journal medRxiv.
