The Philippines has approved for emergency use India’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin  being produced by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.

Bharat Biotech has received "full emergency use authorisation" for its Covaxin brand after the company completed documentary requirements," Reuters cited Food and Drug  Administration chief Rolando Enrique Domingo as saying at a news conference on Friday in Manila.

The vaccine along with Serum Institute of India’s Covishield is currently the mainstay of India’s vaccination drive which has crossed the 30 crore mark since it started in mid-January.

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Covaxin is 77.8 per cent effective in giving protection against COVID-19, according to data from the final Phase III trials carried out on 25,800 participants across India.

The data pertaining to the trials were studied and approved by the DCGI's Subject Expert Committee. The data will now be published in an internationally recognised, peer-reviewed journal.

"First interim analysis" of Phase III results, presented in March, had indicated Covaxin was 81 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in those without prior infection after the second  dose. Data available and analysed at that stage also showed a 100 per cent reduction in chances of hospitalisation in case of infection.

The approval of the Phase III data will also help Bharat Biotech secure an EUL (emergency use listing) from the World Health Organization.

India had emerged as a major exporter of vaccines, but has been forced to prioritise vaccination for its own citizens after a  brutal second wave of Covid 19 hit the country in April.  Sources said that in case of adequate supply– as expected–  New Delhi could resume supplying to other countries as well.

“However, there has been no decision on this whatsoever but one can safely say that if India is able to meet the targets of vaccination one crore a day by August, it will be in a position to also look at supplying the jabs to other countries,” a person familiar with the development told India Narrative.

India had embarked on “vaccine maitri” by supplying Covid 19 vaccines to many countries at a time, when most nations were following the ethos of “vaccine nationalism.”