WHO seeks further clarification on India's Covaxin before approval

Agencies | Geneva

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The technical advisory group (TAG) of the WHO has sought additional clarifications from Bharat Biotech relating to its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin.

The WHO said that TAG had asked Bharat Bitoech, the Hyderabad-based company, “to conduct a final emergency use listing (EUL) risk-benefit assessment for global use of Covaxin.

“The TAG expects to receive these clarifications from the manufacturer by the end of this week and aims to reconvene for the final risk-benefit assessment on November 3,” said the WHO. Last week, it had to thoroughly evaluate a vaccine to ensure it is safe; it could not ‘cut corners’ before recommending a vaccine for emergency use.

Covaxin is among the two widely-used anti-Covid vaccines in India. AstraZeneca’s Covishield, manufactured in India by Serum Institute, is the major one in the country. Serum Institute has supplied over a billion doses of Covishield in India and in other countries.

Bharat Biotech had claimed that it had done final analysis of the efficacy of the drug in phase 3 trials. Covaxin had shown 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2 per cent against the new Delta variant.