Canada
has not yet rendered emergency use approval to Covaxin. Health Canada said that
the review is still “ongoing” and unsure when it will be able to take a
decision in this regard. 

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Covaxin’s partner in North America, Vaccigen, made a
submission in Health Canada seeking emergency use approval for the vaccine on
June 30, 2021.

However,
there is still no clarity why the vaccine has not been cleared for emergency
use and when the health regulatory body will give it the approval in Canada. 

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“A
decision will be made once all of the required information has been thoroughly
evaluated by Health Canada. As the review is still ongoing, it is not possible
to predict when a regulatory decision will be made,” in a tweet on Thursday,
the agency said.

Health
Canada independently reviews applications for emergency use approval and gives consent to the vaccines on the basis of “scientific rigour and medical
evidence”.

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“Timing
for the completion of Health Canada’s review depends on many factors, including
but not limited to, the need for additional data, discussions with the sponsor,
and requirements for updates to safety information,” it added.

In
November 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Covaxin for
emergency use. In Canada, it is recognised for travel purposes.

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At
present only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved for emergency use in Canada,
and so far most of the people in Canada have received these two vaccines, including
booster shots, accounting for nearly 66 million out of the total 72 million, reported Hindustan Times.

AstraZeneca
vaccines have also been approved but there has been limited use of the vaccine.
Covidshield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and the vaccine from
Johnson & Johnson found very few takers in Canada.

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The
news agency Canadian Press cited Health Canada’s chief medical adviser, Dr Supriya Sharma, as saying that the authorisation decision for the drug will be
taken within 10 days.