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Covaxin has been granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) in 13 countries as on January 31 according to the WHO, India's Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed the Lok Sabha on 4th Feb.

Responding to a question, she said Covaxin was granted EUL by the national regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), in the age group 12 to 18 years on December 24, 2021. The COVID-19 Working Group of NTAGI recommended Covid vaccination in adolescents between 15 years to 18 years, Pawar said in a written reply.

On recommendation of the COVID-19 Working Group and Standing Technical Subcommittee of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), Government of India started vaccination of adolescents aged 15 to 18 years from January 3.

"Grant of approval to a vaccine by any country is a technical and scientific process for which data is to be submitted to the regulator by the vaccine manufacturer as per the prescribed rules. According to the WHO, as on 31 January 2022, Covaxin has been granted EUL in 13 countries," she said, according to the ndtv.com.

During the second surge of the pandemic in the country in April and May last year, the requirements of National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme were prioritised. This may have impacted foreign commercial contracts entered into by domestic vaccine manufacturers, she said.

On whether the government has evaluated the likely financial loss due to this, Pawar said that as informed by Ministry of External Affairs, there is no financial loss involved since during the second surge, domestic vaccine production was procured and utilised in the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Vietnam approves India's Covaxin vaccine

A health worker prepares a dose of the Covaxin vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus at a vaccination center in New Delhi on September 29, 2021. Photo by AFP/Sajjad Hussain

Vietnam's Health Ministry has approved India's Covaxin vaccine for emergency use from the end of 2021, making it the ninth Covid-19 vaccine to get the domestic green light.

Developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech International Limited, Covaxin is formulated from an inactivated novel coronavirus antigen.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an emergency use listing for the vaccine on Nov. 4, stating Covaxin was found to have 78 percent efficacy against Covid-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is "extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements" as it could be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.

Covaxin makes the eighth vaccine validated by the WHO for the prevention of Covid-19, with the others comprising British AstraZeneca, American Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac.

In Vietnam, three other vaccines have been approved, namely Russian Sputnik V, Cuban Abdala, and Hayat-Vax that was developed by China and produced in the UAE.

Also, a special aircraft carrying National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his entourage, and a gift of 200,000 doses of Covaxin, from India, landed in Noi Bai International Airport in December 2021.

The donation represents a gesture of goodwill to provide access to Bharat Biotech's WHO approved, indigenously-developed Covaxin to fight the Covid-19 pandemic across borders.

Bharat Biotech has completed Phase-2 and Phase-3 trials of Covaxin for children in the age group 2 to 18 years. The data has been submitted to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and the final approval is awaited.

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