COVID-19: Bahrain approves Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

Manama: Bahrain has approved the emergency use of India's indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccination--Covaxin.

"Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority @NHRABahrain approves the emergency use of the India's indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccination, COVAXIN by Bharat Biotech," Indian embassy in Bahrain tweeted on Thursday.

The embassy announced that passengers travelling from India to Bahrain who have valid COVID vaccination certificates issued in India with a scannable QR Code for vaccine approved by WHO of by the Kingdom of Bahrain will be exempted from mandatory 10 days quarantine as well as pre-arrival negative RTPCR certificate.

The approval comes days after Covaxin received the emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Over 95 countries have so far recognised Covaxin and Covishield. Canada, the US, Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Russia, and Switzerland, are among the 96 nations who have given approval of both India manufactured vaccines.

Early this month, the WHO granted approval for Emergency Use Listing of Covaxin and said that the Bharat Biotech's vaccine was found to have 78 per cent efficacy against the COVID-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose.

The indigenous, inactivated vaccine--Covaxin-- is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility located in Genome Valley in Hyderabad.

The vaccine is formulated from an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 antigen and is presented in single-dose vials and multidose vials of 5, 10 and 20 doses.