covaxin: Bharat Biotech yet to apply for Covaxin approval by Canada, need to do that: High Commission – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Bharat Biotech needs to apply for getting Covaxin approved by Canada so that Indian fully vaccinated with this vaccine can get access to the country. The Canadian High Commission told TOI on Tuesday vaccine manufacturers “need to submit an application with all data and evidence as to the clinical trials conducted and the scientific data about its safety and efficiency.”
“Canada does not review every vaccine the World health Organisation (WHO) has accepted…. the makers of Covaxin have not made a submission to Health Canada for approval of their vaccine. So Bharat Biotech needs to submit their application for Canada to review this vaccine,” a High Commission spokesperson told TOI.
At the moment, the vaccines accepted in Canada include: Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty, tozinameran, BNT162b2); Moderna (Spikevax, mRNA-1273); AstraZeneca/Covishield (ChAdOx1-S, Vaxzevria, AZD1222) and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (Ad26.COV2.S).
Canada had suspended all commercial and private passenger flights from India on April 23, 2021, during the deadly second Covid wave here.
It resumed direct flights from India — only from Delhi as of now — on September 27 with stricter testing norms. Passengers eligible to enter Canada and travelling on those flights need a pre-departure negative Covid-19 molecular result from a test done at Delhi Airport’s Genestrings Laboratory within 18 hours before their scheduled departure. Passengers will need to “present the test report with a QR code issued by this laboratory to the air operator (airline) before boarding.
Passengers who travel from India to Canada via an indirect route still need to provide a pre-departure negative Covid-19 molecular test result from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada.
Air India and Air Canada had direct flights between Delhi and Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Before Covaxin got WHO nod last week, this jab was accepted by 16 countries including Australia. Post approval, countries like Switzerland have accepted it and UK will do so from November 22. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had on Monday described WHO’s emergency use listing for Bharat Biotech’s jab as a “welcome addition for everyone.”