Union Health Minister congratulates ICMR, scientists over WHO nod to Covaxin

Botad: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday congratulated scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech after Covaxin was approved by World Health Organisation (WHO) for Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

Talking to ANI, the Union Health Minister said, "Covaxin, which is regulated and modified in India, has been approved by WHO today. I congratulate scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech and WHO."

On Wednesday, the WHO granted approval for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin.

The approval was done on the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Emergency Use Listing (TAG-EUL), an independent advisory panel that provides recommendations to WHO on whether a COVID-19 vaccine can be listed for emergency use under the EUL procedure.

Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant. Bharat Biotech said that it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Serum Institute's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.

Meanwhile, India's cumulative vaccination coverage crossed 107 Crore.

The WHO has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson 7 Johnson - Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use.