WHO expert panel approves Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use

The Technical Advisory Group of WHO on Wednesday, November 3, recommended Emergency Use Listing status for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. “The Technical Advisory Group of WHO has recommended Emergency Use Listing status for Covaxin,” a source told PTI.

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.

The WHO is now evaluating Covaxin’s clinical trial data for use of EUL.

According to the government sources, the approval was only for the doses meant for people aged 18 and above and not for children. The application for kids was not made.

Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8% effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2% protection against the new Delta variant. In June, the company said that it had concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from phase-3 trials.

Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Covishield are the two most-used vaccines in India.

Earlier, the U.S and U.K had decided not to ease travel restrictions for Covaxin vaccinated passengers as it has not been approved by the WHO. Only Covishield vaccinated passengers were permitted to enter the country without undergoing tests and mandatory quarantine as it was the only vaccine from India that was approved by the WHO.