The WHO has said that "more information" is "required" from Bharat Biotech, which is seeking emergency use listing (EUL) for its Covaxin vaccine for COVID-19.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that "more information" is "required" from Bharat Biotech, which is seeking emergency use listing (EUL) for its Covaxin vaccine for COVID-19.

The latest "Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process" guidance document dated May 18 on the WHO website said Bharat Biotech submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) on April 19 and that "More information required". A pre-submission meeting is expected "to be planned May-June 2021," the guidance document said.

According to the WHO, submissions to it for prequalification or listing under the emergency use procedure are confidential.

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If a product submitted for assessment is found to meet the criteria for listing, WHO will publish the results widely. Duration of the emergency use listing process depends on the quality of the data submitted by the vaccine manufacturer and on those data meeting WHO criteria, according to the agency.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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COVID-19 Vaccine | WHO says 'more information' required from Bharat Biotech for emergency use listing of Covaxin

Bharat Biotech has reportedly conveyed to the government that it has already submitted 90 percent of documents to WHO for obtaining emergency use listing (EUL) for the Covaxin vaccine

The WHO has said that "more information" is "required" from Bharat Biotech, which is seeking emergency use listing (EUL) for its Covaxin vaccine for COVID-19.

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