The UN health agency’s assessment of the vaccine was “quite advanced” and officials are expecting a decision by mid-September
New Delhi: The much-awaited Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) approval for Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine – Covaxin – from the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be given next month.
Dr. Mariangela Simao, a WHO assistant director-general for vaccines, told news agency AFP that the UN health agency’s assessment of the vaccine was “quite advanced” and officials expected a decision by mid-September.
The homegrown covid vaccine is yet to receive approval from the international authority though it has been exported to several countries for emergency use.
Covaxin 78 Percent Effective
Even as experts have claimed the homegrown vaccine to be 78 percent effective, some data from advanced research is yet to come. A new study by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology has found the vaccine effective against the Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus despite slightly reduced neutralisation antibody titers.
The drug regulator also approved a study to be conducted by the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore on the mixing of Covaxin and Covishield. An expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had recommended granting permission for conducting the study on July 29 and the trial will involve 300 healthy volunteers who will be administered a dose of each of Covaxin and Covishield.
The drug regulator also approved a study to be conducted by the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore on the mixing of Covaxin and Covishield.
The study is aimed to determine the feasibility of whether a person can be given two different vaccine shots – one each of Covishield and Covaxin – to complete the inoculation course,” PTI quoted a source as saying.
The WHO said a clinical trial in 52 nations would study three anti-inflammatory drugs as potential treatments for Covid-19 patients. “These therapies – artesunate, imatinib, and infliximab – were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients,” the WHO said in a statement on the Solidarity PLUS trial.
Mixing Covishield, Covaxin Provides Better Immunity: ICMR
In a recent study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), it has been found that combining Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech developed Covaxin and SII’s Covishield have shown better immunogenicity than two doses of the same vaccine.
The study also found that immunisation with a combination of Covishield and Covaxin was safe and the adverse effects were also found to be similar when compared to the same dose regimen.
The government has given approval to Bharat Biotech’s Ankleshwar-based manufacturing plant to produce Covaxin.
