India-made Covovax on Friday , Dec 17, became the ninth Covid vaccine to receive the WHO’s emergency use listing approval with manufacturer Serum Institute of India hailing the moment as “another milestone”.

The global body in a statement this evening said, “Today, the World Health Organisation issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for NVX-CoV2373, expanding the basket of WHO-validated vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine, named Covovax, is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax and is part of the Covax facility portfolio, giving a much-needed boost to ongoing efforts to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries.”

Bharat Biotech-made Covaxin and SII’s Covishield have already received EUL approvals from the WHO. The WHO’s EUL procedure assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of Covid vaccines and is a prerequisite for Covax vaccine supply. It allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer Covid vaccines.