Status: 03/11/2021 4:39 p.m.
The corona vaccine Covaxin, developed in India, has received emergency approval from the WHO. There are now seven vaccines recognized by the WHO. The effectiveness of Covaxin is 78 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the first corona vaccine from India. It granted the Bharat Biotech preparation Covaxin an emergency approval, as the WHO announced. Seven drugs now have this approval: in addition to Covaxin, the vaccines from BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Sinovac. Testing of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is still ongoing.
The WHO emergency approval has no relevance for countries or regions with their own regulatory authorities such as the EU or the USA. You check safety and effectiveness studies yourself and then decide on approval. However, countries that do not have such authorities rely on the WHO for national approval. UN organizations can then buy and use such vaccines. The WHO recommends that all countries recognize the vaccination of travelers with substances that have been approved by the WHO.
Covaxin has 78 percent effectiveness
Covaxin is “particularly suitable for low- and middle-income countries because it can be easily stored,” said the WHO. The vaccine is 78 percent effective and is recommended for people 18 years and older. The WHO technical experts have found that the benefits of a vaccination are significantly greater than the possible side effects.
Covaxin is made from an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 antigen. The vaccination is made with two doses four weeks apart. The preparation is already widespread in India – the second most populous country in the world with a population of more than 1.3 billion. The vaccine has also been approved in 15 other countries, including Iran, Mexico and the Philippines.
Door-to-door vaccination campaign in India
India also wants to use Covaxin to prevent another wave of the corona virus with a new vaccination campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the authorities in New Delhi to send door-to-door workers in different parts of the country and vaccinate people. Religious leaders should also help in the very religious country to get other parts of the population to vaccinate. Many Indians have only had one vaccination so far.
This Thursday is the Diwali Festival of Lights – one of the most important Hindu holidays, where many families come together. Modi said: “Even in rich countries, Corona is attacking again. A country like ours will not be able to withstand this. So it is important that both vaccine doses are taken.”
In India, after a deadly second wave in the spring, fear of the pandemic has evaporated for many. Only a few still adhere to corona measures. Even so, the numbers have been very low for months. Research in several cities has shown that many people now have antibodies in their blood – either because of the illness or because of the vaccination. Around a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated. A little more than another quarter received at least one injection.