Health Minister Meets WHO Chief Scientist, Discusses Covaxin Approval

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday met WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan and held discussions over the global health body's approval for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin.

"Held a meeting with Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of @WHO. We had a productive discussion on WHO's approval of @BharatBiotech''s COVAXIN. @DoctorSoumya also appreciated India's efforts for the containment of #COVID19," Mr Mandaviya tweeted.

All documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) have been submitted by Bharat Biotech for COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of July 9 and the review process by the global health body has commenced, the Rajya Sabha was told last month.

Responding to question on whether it has come to the notice of the government that Covaxin used in India as Covid vaccine is not recognised by many countries, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Ms Pawar in a written reply said, "The Government of India is aware that Covaxin at present is not part of WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL)."

Elaborating on efforts that have been made by the government to resolve this issue, Ms Pawar said, "All documents required for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) have been submitted by Bharat Biotech International Ltd. to WHO as of 9th July 2021. The review process by WHO has commenced. WHO usually takes up to six weeks to decide on Emergency Use Listing (EUL) submissions."

Developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research, Covaxin was approved for emergency use on January 3. Trial results later showed the vaccine has an efficacy of 78 per cent.