After Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, was granted Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, Dr. Krishna Ella, chairman and MD of the Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer said the validation was a "momentous occasion for India's Indian innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups and science."
"We are grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other respected people for taking Covaxin to instil the confidence in Indian science," says Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.
"It is a momentous occasion for the Indian innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups and science. As a scientist, I pray that India's innovation is starting and is further going to boom as we go along," added Dr Ella.
He also thanked the National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research who collaborated with Bharat Biotech to develop India's indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin.
"I am also thankful to ICMR and NIV for their partnership and for establishing a true public-private partnership in the country," said Dr Krisha Ella.
WHO on Wednesday granted approval for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Covaxin.
The WHO said in a tweet 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 COVID-19," 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 a dose 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.
( With inputs from ANI )
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