Bahrain approves India's Covaxin for emergency use; to be available for 18 & above

In a key development, Bahrain on Thursday, 11 November, approved the emergency use of the India-made COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech. In a tweet, the Indian embassy in Bahrain said that the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) on Thursday approved India’s indigenously produced vaccine against Coronavirus. Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine that was recently got approval by World Health Organization (WHO). Covaxin will also be available in Bahrain for 18-year-olds and above.

As per Bahrain News Agency, the approval in the kingdom follows a careful evaluation of data provided by the manufacturer, Bharat Biotech carried out by the NHRA’s Clinical trials Committee as well as the Ministry of Health’s Immunization Committee. More than 26,000 people participated in the vaccine trials which revealed the India-made vaccine is 77.8% effective against COVID-19 and 93.4% effective against the severe cases of Coronavirus injection.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Approved By Hong Kong

Apart from Bahrain, Hong Kong also joined the growing list of nations that have approved Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Earlier on 10 November, ANI stated that Covaxin was added to the list of COVID-19 vaccines recognised in the former British colony. On 3 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) also issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for Covaxin. In a statement, the United Nations (UN) health agency said that its EUL procedure “assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and is a prerequisite for COVAX vaccine supply. It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.”

“COVAXIN® was assessed under the WHO EUL procedure based on the review of data on quality, safety, efficacy, a risk management plan and programmatic suitability. The Technical Advisory Group (TAG), convened by WHO and made up of regulatory experts from around the world, has determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs risks and the vaccine can be used globally,” WHO said.

(IMAGE: PTI)