Fact check: No, WHO has not granted Covaxin emergency use nod for children

On January 3, India saw the next phase of its vaccination drive commence for those in the age group of 15 years to 18 years. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in the vaccination guidelines issued on December 27, 2021, claimed that Covaxin is the only vaccine for this age group in India to have been granted emergency use listing, which is World Health Organization’s risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines.

The ministry, in the guidelines, mentioned that in this phase the vaccination option will only be Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin as it “is the only vaccine with emergency use listing for the age group 15-18”. There are two errors in this statement:

WHO has not issued emergency use listing for Covaxin for the age group of 15-18 yearsWhile Covaxin got emergency use authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India, it is not the only one to have received this.

The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization recommended, in October 2021, that Covaxin be issued emergency use listing as “clinical trial data demonstrated an efficacy rate against symptomatic Covid-19 of 78%”.

A month later, on November 3, 2021, Covaxin became the eighth vaccine in the world to be issued emergency use listing by the WHO. This approval…

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