New Delhi,Nov 3: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday granted emergency use authorisation to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

At the same time, Covaxin has been included as one of the ‘Emergency Use Listing’ that can fight Corona Pandemic.

Earlier, Covaxin was not a WHO-approved vaccine and recipients with plans to travel abroad were either asked to quarantine on arrival, produce negative RT-PCR test results (at their own expense), or get vaccinated with a jab approved in the destination country.

The WHO’s nod has been welcomed by the roughly 15 crore Indians who are recipients of Covaxin, the country’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine.

The extended delay over approvals of the Covaxin left thousands of Indians, including students, working professionals and families divided. Over a million others were waiting for countries to recognize the jab.

With validation from WHO, countries can now expedite their regulatory approval processes to import & administer Covaxin. UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), GAVI COVAX facility, will be able to procure Covaxin for distribution to countries worldwide,said Bharat Biotech Authorities.