Covaxin Approval For Kids May Take Less Time, Says WHO Chief Scientist

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said that the clearance for using Covaxin on children will take much less time. Her comments came after the Bharat Biotech-manufactured vaccine was approved by WHO for Emergency Use Listing.

The Emergency Use Listing of WHO is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing new, or unlicensed, products that can be used during public health emergencies.

The nod from the global health organisation means that the ‘made-in-India’ vaccine will be recognised by other nations and Indians getting the jabs need not self-quarantine or face restrictions while travelling abroad.

“Covaxin is somewhere in the middle, it took somewhere between 90 and 100 days,” Dr Swaminathan was quoted as saying by NDTV. According to her, the WHO panel tasked with clearing vaccines for Emergency Use Listing met over Covaxin last week and asked for additional clarifications. “The committee met again today and were very satisfied,” she said.

Responding to a query on whether the vaccine is completely safe for pregnant women, Dr Swaminathan said more data is required to reach a conclusion. “What we do know so far is that a lot of pregnant women in India have taken the Covaxin vaccine and we are awaiting the data,” she said.

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