WHO needs 'more information' on Covaxin

BBL apparently claims it has submitted 90 per cent of documents to WHO

The World Health Organisation has said "more information" is "required" from Bharat Biotech, which is seeking emergency use listing for Covaxin, amid concerns in India that receivers of this vaccine will not be able to travel to many countries in the absence of WHO listing.

As per information put up on the WHO website, Bharat Biotech submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) on April 19 and that "more information required". A pre-submission meeting is expected "to be planned May-June 2021", a guidance document said.

According to the WHO, submissions to it for prequalification or listing under the emergency use procedure are confidential.

If a product submitted for assessment is found to meet the criteria for listing, WHO will publish the results widely. Duration of the emergency use listing process depends on the quality of the data submitted by the vaccine manufacturer and on those data meeting WHO criteria, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, Bharat Biotech has conveyed to the government that it has already submitted 90 per cent of documents to WHO for obtaining emergency use listing for Covaxin, sources said in New Delhi on Monday. The remaining documents are expected to be submitted by June, sources said.

"BBIL is confident about obtaining WHO's emergency use listing," said a source. Noting that Covaxin has already received regulatory approval from 11 countries, sources said there was also interest from other 11 companies in seven nations for technology transfer and production of Covaxin.

The US, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the EU are among those that do not have Covaxin on their approved list of vaccines for now. It is said top universities are allowing those who have received vaccines approved by the countries or WHO.

US warns against Japan, Lanka visits

Amid rising coronavirus cases in Japan and Sri Lanka, the US State Department issued a travel advisory warning against travel to the respective countries due to Covid-19 transmission concerns. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Americans should avoid all travel to Japan and advised anyone who does have to visit the country to get vaccinated prior to travelling there. "Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan," it added. Japan has reported over seven lakh coronavirus infections till May 23.

Also Read: Mumbai records 1,037 Covid-19 cases, doubling rate at 345 days

284,357
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

167,416,621
Total no. of cases worldwide

3,475,888
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever