Bharat Biotech's vaccine cleared by panel

New Delhi : The coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’ developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has been recommended for restricted emergency use by a government-appointed panel of experts, which submitted its findings to the national regulator - the Drugs Controller General of India - on Saturday evening.

The DGCI will take the final call on approving rollout of the vaccine in the country, says a report in NDTV.

The recommendation comes a day after the panel sent another drug - Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and manufactured by Pune's Serum Institute - for approval.

Britain and Argentina this week authorised the AstraZeneca vaccine while the World Health Organization on Thursday granted emergency validation to the rival Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Covishield is expected to get more use in India as it can be stored and transported under normal refrigeration while the Pfizer shot needs ultra-low temperatures for storage.