Good news for Indian travellers, says AIIMS Dr Sanjay Rai on WHO's approval to Covaxin

New Delhi [India], November 3 : The Professor of Community Medicine at AIIMS, Dr Sanjay Rai said on Wednesday that the World Health Organisation's (WHO) emergency use nod to Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin is good news for Indians especially those vaccinates Indians who plan to travel abroad.
"It's good news for Indians. One of the biggest advantages which Indians will have with this approval is for travelling. After WHO's approval, many other countries will also expedite Covaxin's regulatory approval. Hence, Indian having plans of travelling abroad will benefit from this decision," said Dr Sanjay Rai.
Rai, who is also the principal investigator of Covaxin trials in AIIMS, said Covaxin is a safe and effective vaccine and the Clinical trial has already approved this fact.
"Covaxin is a safe and effective vaccine and Clinical trials had already approved this fact. WHO has already approved many other vaccines like Pfizer, Moderna, based on the same criteria. If we apply the same criteria, Covaxin should also be qualified long back but the process somehow got delayed. Finally, we got approval and this is great news for the entire country and I congratulate every citizen of this country," he added.
The WHO has issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for India's indigenous vaccine Covaxin, adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for prevention of COVID-19.
In a tweet, the world body said that the Technical Advisory Group, convened by World Health Organisation (WHO), has determined that the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19.
"WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of #COVID19," WHO said in a tweet.
"The Technical Advisory Group, convened by WHO and made up of regulatory experts from around the world, has determined that the Covaxin vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against #COVID19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs risks and the vaccine can be used," it added.
The global health body said that the Covaxin vaccine was also reviewed by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and recommended the use of this vaccine in two doses, with an interval of four weeks, in all age groups 18 and above.
Earlier, the WHO panel had sought additional clarifications from the manufacturer of Covaxin, in order to conduct a final EUL risk-benefit assessment for global use of the vaccine.
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Serum Institute's Covishield are two widely used vaccines in India against COVID-19. WHO has so far approved COVID-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson - Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use.