The preparation is 78% effective, requires two doses four weeks apart, and is recommended for those over 18 years of age.
The World Health Organization (WHO) granted emergency approval to the Covaxin coronavirus vaccine, the first entirely developed in India and the eighth to receive endorsement.
This 78% effective vaccine is recommended for everyone 18 years of age and older. It requires two doses four weeks apart and “is especially adapted to countries with limited resources because it can be stored without difficulty,” according to a WHO statement.
It is the first vaccine entirely developed and manufactured in India to receive approval from the UN organization. WHO analyzes concluded that the vaccine meets standards protection against COVID-19, for which the agency approved its worldwide distribution.
It joins the virus vaccines from Pfizer-Biontech, Moderna, AstraZeneca (the WHO has two vaccines from this laboratory, one of which is manufactured in India), Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Sinovac.
The announcement comes as the threshold of 5 million deaths from COVID-19 has just been crossed. However, the real balance of the disease, the worst pandemic in a hundred years, could be two or three times higher, says the WHO and refers AFP.
The Covaxin vaccine, or BBV152, is an inactivated virus vaccine, a relatively classic technology but with a new adjuvant that makes it more effective, according to the manufacturer.
This adjuvant distinguishes it from the other two inactivated virus vaccines already authorized by the WHO: those of the Chinese laboratories Sinovac and Sinopharm.
However, the WHO reported that there are currently insufficient data available to evaluate the efficacy or safety of Covaxin in patients. pregnant women, but indicated that studies will be carried out in this regard.
Storage is simpler than messenger RNA vaccines, such as Moderna and Pfizer-Biontech, which have proven to be the most effective of all the sera licensed so far, although they must be transported and stored at ultra-low temperatures.
According to Bharat Biontech, Covaxin can be transported and long-term stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, corresponding to the temperature of a domestic refrigerator.
The company also notes that it is packaged in multi-dose vials to reduce waste.
Certification by the WHO facilitates international recognition of the vaccine and its use, especially to UN agencies and the Covax system, created to facilitate access to immunization in the most disadvantaged countries.
“The WHO approval is a significant step towards global access to Covaxin, which is safe, effective and widely used in India,” said Dr. Krishna Ella, CEO of Bharat Biotech.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, also rejoiced in a tweet. He believes that the approval “will facilitate travel for many Indian citizens and contribute to equity in vaccinations.”
Inequity in vaccination – countries with more resources have reserved most of the available doses of vaccines – is a problem that has been widely denounced by the WHO and by the countries that have been affected.
The organization recently noted that, “so far, only 0.4% of tests and 0.5% of injected vaccines worldwide have been used in low-resource countries, despite the fact that these countries represent 9% of the world’s population”.
“This urgent approval increases the availability of vaccines, the most effective medical tool to end the pandemic,” said Dr. Mariangela Simao, in charge of access to medicines at WHO.
“But we must keep up the pressure to respond to the needs of all populations, prioritize risk groups that are still waiting for their first dose, before we can announce victory.”
According to Bharat Biotech, the production capacity was 50 to 55 million doses per month in October, and the company expects to reach an annual production capacity of one billion doses by the end of 2021.
The firm also specified that “technology transfers are being made” to companies in India, the United States and other countries. (I)
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