WHO authorizes Indian-made COVID vaccine, months into use

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and MARIA CHENG
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — The World Health Organization has granted an emergency use license to a coronavirus vaccine developed in India. In a statement on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said it had authorized Covaxin, made by India’s Bharat Biotech. The decision makes Covaxin the eighth COVID-19 vaccine to receive WHO’s green light. The license also offers reassurance for a shot that India’s regulators authorized long before advanced safety and efficacy testing was completed. Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research. WHO said the vaccine was found to be about 78% effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and was “extremely suitable” for poor countries due to its much easier storage requirements.