New Delhi: World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said that WHO had a meeting with Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on its dossier for Covaxin’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL). Dr Singh said it is currently under review by technical experts.
“Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, Sinovac and Sinopharm have been granted EUL by the WHO. For COVXIN, an expression of interest for EUL has been made to WHO by Bharat Biotech. WHO has already conducted a pre-submission meeting with the company following which a dossier has been submitted by Bharat Biotech to WHO in early July. The dossier is currently under review by the technical experts for consideration of EUL,” Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
She also warned about the possibility of COVID-19’s Delta variant becoming the most dominant strain. “Delta variant has spread to over 100 countries, the way its spreading is likely to soon become the most dominant COVID strain globally,” the regional director said.
“Among all variants of concern, Delta spreads most rapidly. The rapid spread means more cases, leading to more pressure on health systems and more death,” she said.
