WHO on Covaxin approval: Expecting one additional piece of info from Bharat Biotech

United Nations/Geneva, Oct 18: The World Health Organisation said on Monday that it is expecting one additional piece of information from Bharat Biotech regarding its COVID-19 vaccine 'COVAXIN' and emphasised that it has to thoroughly evaluate to ensure vaccines are safe and "cannot cut corners" before recommending a vaccine for emergency use.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which has developed Covaxin, had submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) to the World Health Organisation on April 19 for its vaccine.

"We are aware that many people are waiting for WHO's recommendation for Covaxin to be included in the #COVID-19 Emergency Use Listing, but we cannot cut corners - before recommending a product for emergency use, we must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective," the global health organisation said in a tweet.

"Bharat Biotech - the manufacturer of Covaxin - has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis and WHO experts have reviewed these data. WHO is expecting one additional piece of information from the company today," it said.

The WHO's tweet came a day after its chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that the agency's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider the emergency use listing of India's Covaxin which is being used in the country's nationwide anti-COVID-19 vaccination programme.