Covaxin is the eighth vaccine to get this approval, already approved in 22 countries
Bharat Biotech is the producer of Covaxin. As you know from our earlier editions, Covaxin is based on inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is an old and well-tested technique for manufacturing vaccines.
This vaccine was designed and developed in India.
It was one of the first two vaccines to get Emergency Use Approval in India, as early as March 2021. (From January 2021, the vaccine was administered as part of Phase 3 clinical trials, but the approval from ICMR (Indian Council of Medial Research) came in March 2021, after Phase 3 clinical trials were submitted).
On July 6th, 2021, Bharat Biotech also applied to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Emergency Use Approval.
That application was approved today, on November 3rd , 2021.
Why did Bharat Biotech need WHO approval if it had India’s approval? What does WHO approval mean?
With this approval, people who have been vaccinated with Covaxin can travel anywhere in the world. Their vaccination will be considered valid.
Some weeks ago, Britain put up a rule that travellers coming from India will have to isolate (stay alone) for 15 days after arrival in the UK. This decision was later reversed, but now, no country can make such a decision easily. The vaccine has been approved by a global body.
Covaxin had already been accepted as a valid vaccine in more than 20 countries. This means that 20 countries were allowing tourists and visitors who have been vaccinated with Covaxin.
But this is a major step towards its global acceptance. This will help international travellers who have taken Covaxin and will also help the company (Bharat Biotech) get more international orders for its vaccine.
What other vaccines have been approved?
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is the eighth global vaccine to get WHO approval. The other companies are: Pfizer-BioNTech (the first vaccine to get this approval) (USA), Astra Zeneca (UK-Sweden), Serum Institute of India (India), J&J (USA), Moderna (USA), Sinopharm (China), and Sinovac (China).
