COVID-19 vaccine | 'If all goes well' Covaxin to get WHO nod within 24 hours

Its technical advisory group is reviewing data on Covaxin and 'if all is in place', a recommendation could come in within 24 hours or so, a WHO spokesperson has said

Moneycontrol News

October 26, 2021 / 18:01 IST

Vial of Covaxin (File image)

The World Health Organisation’s technical advisory group was reviewing data on Covaxin, the COVID-19 vaccine made by India’s Bharat Biotech, and a decision on its emergency use listing was likely soon, a WHO spokesperson said on October 26.

Emergency used listing by WHO is vital as countries across the world have begun to allow international travellers but most are insisting that they be vaccinated by jabs cleared by the UN’s health body.

“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,” news agency Reuters quoted Margaret Harris as saying at a United Nations press briefing.

Millions of Indians, including students, have taken Covaxin shots but have not been able to travel pending WHO approval.

Also read: WHO to consider emergency use listing of Covaxin today: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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