The wait for people in India who took the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech just got longer as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it wants additional inputs from the vaccine maker.
India has now been waiting for a long time to get Emergency Use Listing (EUL) because many Indians who took Covaxin are planning international travel and without recognition, International travel will not be possible as countries won’t recognise these individuals as fully vaccinated.
In a statement, the WHO said, “while it is aware that many people are waiting for its recommendation for Covaxin to be included in the EUL, it clarified that it “cannot cut corners’ before recommending a product for emergency use, we must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective,” said the agency.
WHO also said that Bharat Biotech – the manufacturer of Covaxin – has been submitting data to the WHO on a rolling basis and WHO experts have reviewed the data.
“WHO is expecting one additional piece of information from the company today. The timeframe for the WHO EUL procedure is dependent on how quickly a company producing the vaccine is able to provide the data required for WHO to evaluate the vaccine’s quality, safety, efficacy and its suitability for low- and middle-income countries,” said the body.
The agency said that when it is fully satisfied with the information provided that addresses all questions raised, the WHO and the technical advisory group will then complete the assessment and come to a final recommendation on whether to grant EUL to the vaccine.
Though Covaxin has received the support of the Indian government and the latter has strongly advocated its efficacy, but it is clear that the reason why WHO deferred its decision till October on the pretext of requiring additional data must be questioned.
There are reports that a group of pharmaceutical companies and the Chinese government are lobbying to ensure Covaxin is not given EUL because for some of the pharma giants, it would mean loss of revenue, and for China, the export of Covaxin would give India more recognition on the international diplomatic stage.
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