Nepal gives emergency approval to India's Covaxin

Nepal has approved India's indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin for emergency use.

With this, the number of vaccines granted emergency use authorisation in the Himalayan nation has reached three, Kathmandu Post reported.

A meeting of the drug advisory committee of the Department of Drug Administration on Friday decided to issue a conditional emergency use authorisation to the vaccine, according to a press statement issued by the department.

Bharat Biotech had applied for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine on January 13.

Of the three applications filed on January 13, the department had first granted emergency use authorisation to Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on January 15.

Serum Institute of India is manufacturing AstraZeneca vaccine 'Covishield'. Nepal also granted emergency use authorisation to BBIBP-CorV vaccine, developed by China's Sinopharm on February 17.

Nepal launched the first phase of the vaccination campaign on January 27 earlier this year and administered vaccines to the frontline workers.

So far, over 1,700,000 people have taken the first shot in the first and second phases of the vaccination campaign.

( With inputs from ANI )