Wanting to travel abroad for long, but did you get jabbed with Covaxin? And your travel plans are being dumped? Fret not. There’s good news for you. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday evening had approved the emergency use of ‘Covaxin’. The vaccine has been prepared by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The news comes as a sigh of relief for those who are planning to go abroad.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava said that this approval opened the way for the worldwide use of ‘Covaxin’.
Bharat Biotech has developed ‘Covaxin’ in collaboration with ICMR
Bharat Biotech has developed Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and it is a completely indigenous vaccine.
It has been developed by inactivating the coronavirus itself.
For this, ICMR had provided a live virus to Bharat Biotech, by inactivating which the company developed the vaccine. Apart from India, some countries like Brazil have also asked for its dosage.
WHO approved after the recommendation of TAG
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of WHO had a meeting on Wednesday on the decision to approve the vaccine.
It was decided that the vaccine meets the WHO standards for protection from corona. Its benefits outweigh the risks and it can be used all over the world.
Thereafter, he recommended it for approval. Based on this recommendation, the WHO issued approval for the vaccine in the evening.
WHO’s approval is a great day for the country, says Bhargava
According to Hindustan Times, Bhargava said after approval from WHO, “It is a great day for India. It is a classic example of how private-public partnership has been a success in this field.”
He further said, “The hard work of scientists and healthcare workers has led to this approval today. This makes India very proud. We should keep up this momentum”
After a long investigation, ‘Covaxin’ has been approved
For the last few months, there were constant expectations that Covaxin would be approved soon, but due to repeated requests for new data by the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG), its approval went ahead.
All the documents demanded by Bharat Biotech were also being handed over. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appealed for early approval of Covaxin during the G-20 summit. The approval is now finally granted.