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India’s Biotech vaccine allowed for emergency use in Nepal



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FILE – This September 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the company. A late-stage study of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot, the company announced Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Cheryl Gerber/Courtesy of Johnson & Johnson via AP, File)

KATHMANDU: The government of Nepal has approved Covaxin produced by India’s Bharat Biotech for the emergency use in Nepal.

A meeting of the Department of Drug Management (DDA), a regulatory body, held on Sunday gave permission for emergency use of the covaxin, spokesperson Santosh KC informed.

“Once the company has completed all the procedures, we approved the vaccine based on the recommendation of the Drug Advisory Committee and as per the decisions made by the Council of Ministers,” he said.

Earlier, only Covishield vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Sinopharm vaccine manufactured by the Chinese company Sinopharm had received emergency permission in Nepal. About 1.7 million vaccines administered in Nepal so far belong to Covishield.

The government has yet to receive Sinopharm vaccine. The government of China has already announced to provide 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine to Nepal as a gift.