Developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech International Limited, Covaxin is formulated from an inactivated novel coronavirus antigen.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an emergency use listing for the vaccine on Nov. 4, stating Covaxin was found to have 78 percent efficacy against Covid-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is "extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements" as it could be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Covaxin makes the eighth vaccine validated by the WHO for the prevention of Covid-19, with the others comprising British AstraZeneca, American Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac.
In Vietnam, three other vaccines have been approved, namely Russian Sputnik V, Cuban Abdala, and Hayat-Vax that was developed by China and produced in the UAE.
India has used Covaxin for its mass vaccination program since early this year and so far, 121 million doses have been administered.
Vietnam has so far received 125 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
By Wednesday, the nation of 96 million had inoculated 31.6 million people with one dose and over 30 million with two.
