Approval of Covaxin a milestone for Indian vaccinology, says Karnataka Health Minister

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar lauded the approval of Bharat Biotech's COVID vaccine 'Covaxin' today and called it a significant milestone in India's indigenous novel vaccinology.

"India being one of the largest exporters of vaccines, the world is looking up to us in the common fight against this global pandemic. Bharat Biotech is a globally reputed company which has the credibility and experience of developing 16 vaccines including for influenza H1N1, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Chikungunya, Zika and the world's first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for Typhoid," he said in a tweet.

Dr Sudhakar also praised Bharat Biotech's founder and Chairman Dr Krishna Ella saying that he is a passionate professional with the credibility of delivering over 4 billion vaccine doses to underprivileged people in more than 150 developing countries through UNICEF and other channels.

He also said that the phase III clinical trials of Covaxin involve 24,000 volunteers and the data of the trials will be made available soon. The minister also appealed to the people to not indulge in criticism of the vaccine as it discredits the hard work of scientists.

The Drugs Controller General of India on Sunday gave the permission to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for use in an emergency situation.

(ANI)