INDIAN-MADE Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin has been approved by the ministry of health for temporary emergency use.
Reports in Phnom Penh Post said the notice of emergency authorisation (EUA) was issued by health minister, Mam Bun Heng yesterday. The vaccine is permitted to be used for those aged 18 and above.
The vaccine is produced by Bharat Biotech International Limited, a pharmaceutical firm based in the Indian state of Telangana.
The approval letter is based on the World Health Organisation's Emergency Use Listing (EUL) dated Nov 3 and Covaxin is permitted for use only during the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic as public health emergency.
An EUA is valid only within the duration of the declared public health emergency due to Covid-19, the notice indicates, adding that the jabs are to be used according to the priorities set by the government, as stated in applicable distribution plans.
The ministry also instructed the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) to work with relevant institutions on improving the management of safety issues and clinical response to adverse effects of the vaccines
WHO issued the EUL for Covaxin on November 3, in a move expected to increase Covid-19 jabs available in poor countries.
With a 78 per cent efficacy rate after two doses over a month, Covaxin "is extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements", the UN body said.
Covaxin is the first vaccine completely developed and manufactured in India to receive WHO approval, becoming the eighth jab against Covid-19 on the UN agency's list.
Unlike mRNA vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that have emerged as leading jabs against Covid-19, Covaxin uses the more traditional "inactivated" technology that has been used for decades in vaccines against diseases like polio, seasonal influenza and rabies.
The technology uses a dead version of a germ that causes a disease to boost the immune response.
One of the main advantages of such vaccines is that they are more easily stored that mRNA jabs, which need to be kept at sub-zero temperatures. This makes them easier to distribute, especially in poor countries that may lack the needed facilities.
Covaxin can be stored between 2-8 degrees Celsius, according to the company website.