WHO group to consider emergency use listing of Covaxin

WHO group to consider emergency use listing of Covaxin

Part of: Prelims and GS – II – Health and GS-III – Sci and tech 

Context The World Health Organization’s technical advisory group will consider the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin.

What is Emergency Use Listing (EUL)?

• The WHO Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics.
• Aim: Expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency. 
• This also assists interested UN procurement agencies and Member States in determining the acceptability of specific products
• The following criteria must be met:
  • The disease for which the product is intended is serious or immediately life threatening.
  • Existing products have not been successful in eradicating the disease or preventing outbreaks
  • The product is manufactured in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
  • The applicant undertakes to complete the development of the product and apply for WHO prequalification once the product is licensed.

What is Covaxin?

• Covaxin is India’s first indigenous, whole-virion, inactivated vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
• It has been formulated with ‘Algel-IMDG’, which contains chemically absorbed TLR7/8 as an adjuvant onto aluminium hydroxide gel to generate the requisite type of immune responses without damaging the body.