WHO to consider emergency use listing of Covaxin at today's meeting: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

The World Health Organization (WHO) will meet on October 26 to consider much-coveted emergency use approval to Covaxin, India's indigenously made vaccine against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.

The global health body's technical advisory group is meeting to consider the emergency use listing (EUL) of the vaccine, the minister said.

“WHO has a system in which there is a technical committee which has approved it (Covaxin) while the other committee is meeting today. The approval for Covaxin will be given on the basis of today's meeting,” Mandaviya told reporters in Delhi.

READ: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya says government panel looking into new Delta subvariant

Bharat Biotech, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company which developed Covaxin, has now been waiting for months for the specialised United Nations (UN) agency to provide a formal nod to its Covid-19 vaccine.

It had submitted the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the emergency use approval on April 19, but WHO has said it needs more data from the company before showing the green light.

The WHO nod for Covaxin’s emergency use authorisation is crucial for its widespread acceptability as a safe and effective vaccine. Presently, India is using Covaxin in its nationwide inoculation drive against Covid-19 as one of the six vaccines approved by the Drugs Controller General of India, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield and the Russian-made Sputnik V.

Also, read: Vaccinated but stuck: Indians await WHO nod for homegrown shot to travel abroad

The Union Minister said the Centre had set up 1,50,000 Ayushman health and wellness centres to provide affordable treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes, etc and check-up at primary level.

"We have come up with Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission package to fill the gaps in government health infrastructure,” he said.

Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, an addition to the National Health Mission, will provide support to 17,788 rural Health and Wellness Centres in 10 ‘high focus’ states and establish 11,024 urban Health and Wellness Centres across the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated what is being touted as “India’s largest scheme to scale up health infrastructure” in Varanasi on October 25.