Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), hailed the WHO’s decision as “another milestone” in the fight against COVID-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday released an emergency use list for the Covovax anti-Covid vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India under license from Novavax, to expand the WHO-approved basket of vaccines against the viral disease.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), hailed the WHO’s decision as “another milestone” in the fight against COVID-19.
Earlier this week, Poonawala said that SII plans to launch Covovax in the next six months. He had stated that Covovax, which is under trial, would protect children up to three years because it showed excellent data during trials.
The World Health Organization has released an emergency use list for Covovax, to expand the basket of WHO-approved vaccines against COVID-19. The World Health Organization said in a tweet on Friday that the vaccine was produced by the Serum Institute in India under license from Novavax.
According to the World Health Organization, Covovax has been evaluated under Emergency Use List procedures based on a review of data on quality, safety, efficacy, risk management plan, programmatic suitability and manufacturing site inspections conducted by the Controller General of Drugs of India (DCGI).
“The Technical Advisory Group for the Emergency Use List (TAG-EUL), convened by the World Health Organization and made up of 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 any risks, and the Vaccine use worldwide.
In response to the development, Poonawala tweeted, “Another milestone in our fight against COVID-19, Covovax is now approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use, showing excellent safety and efficacy. Thank you all for the great collaboration… Flag Novavax, WHO, Jaffe, Vaccine Alliance, CEO Seth Berkeley and the Gates Foundation on his tweet.
Currently, Covishield and other COVID-19 vaccines are approved for people over the age of 18. Poonawalla emphasized that there is enough data to show that Covovax will work and protect children from COVID-19.
Covovax is still pending an emergency use authorization from India’s drug regulator DCGI.
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