WHO says decision on Covaxin's emergency use listing recommendation expected within 24 hrs

GENEVA: World Health Organisation (WHO) official Dr Margaret Harris has said that the decision on Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin's emergency use listing recommendation is expected within 24 hours.
"On Covaxin, the technical advisory group that reviews all the data for a potential emergency use listing is indeed reviewing that data today. Now if all is in place, and all goes well, and if the committee is satisfied, we would expect a recommendation within the next 24 hours or so," Dr Harris said during a press briefing.
Bharat Biotech has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis and submitted additional information at the UN health body's request on September 27.
Earlier this month, WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan had said that the UN health body's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider emergency use listing (EUL) for Covaxin.
Last week, WHO had said a vaccine recommended by it for emergency use must be evaluated thoroughly.
"We are aware that many people are waiting for WHO's recommendation for Covaxin to be included in the COVID19 Emergency Use Listing, but we cannot cut corners - before recommending a product for emergency use, we must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective," the UN health body had said.
Covaxin, India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.