A World Health Organization technical advisory team on Tuesday said that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shots against the coronavirus might get approval within 24 hours, Reuters reported.
“If all is in place and all goes well and if the committee is satisfied, we would expect a recommendation within the next 24 hours or so,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said at a press briefing in Switzerland’s Geneva city.
India had applied to the World Health Organization for emergency use listing for Covaxin in April.
Emergency use listing is a procedure by the World Health Organization to approve vaccines and other products for use during public health emergencies. The duration of the emergency use listing process depends on the quality of the data submitted by the vaccine manufacturer.
Last month, the World Health Organization had said that Bharat Biotech began submitting “rolling data” on July 6. In a rolling review, the global health body can analyse information when it comes in from an applicant, thus accelerating the process.
On October 18, the World Health Organization said that it cannot “cut corners” while deciding whether it can recommend Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for an emergency use listing.
The global health body had said that the Technical Advisory Group will complete the assessment and “come to a final recommendation whether to grant emergency use listing to the vaccine”.
The Drugs Controller General of India had granted approval for restricted emergency use to Covaxin in January. Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s locally produced, Covishield, were the first Covid-19 vaccines to be approved in India.
So far, the World Health Organizations has approved six vaccines Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
Meanwhile, a subject expert committee on coronavirus vaccines had on October 12 recommended the emergency use listing for administering Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin among those between the ages of two and 18 years.
̌The Drugs Controller General of India is expected to soon give a final authorisation for use of the vaccine to children and teenagers. The vaccine will be administered in two doses with a gap of 20 days.
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