The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday approved the
Covovax vaccine for Emergency Use Listing (EUL), elevating to nine the number
of immunisations approved to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The vaccine is produced by the Serum Institute of India,
under licence from Novavax, and will now be part of the COVAX facility
portfolio, boosting efforts to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries.
Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant Director-General for
Access to Medicines and Health Products, said that “even with new variants
emerging, vaccines remain one of the most effective tools to protect people
against serious illness and death from SARS-COV-2.”
She said WHO hoped the new Indian-produced shots would increase access, particularly in lower-income countries, 41 of which have still not been able to vaccinate 10 per cent of their populations, while 98 countries have yet to reach 40 per cent.
According to WHO, the procedure to qualify for emergency use
assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccines. The approval also
allows countries to expedite their own regulatory process.
The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing
(TAG-EUL), convened by WHO and made up of experts from around the world,
determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against
COVID-19, that the benefits far outweighs any risks and that it can be used
globally.
Covovax is a subunit of the vaccine developed by Novavax and
the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It requires two
doses and is stable at 2 to 8 °C refrigerated temperatures.
This week, a meeting of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of
Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) also reviewed the vaccine.
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