Covaxin ‘highly efficacious’

Covaxin, the first Covid-19 vaccine developed in India, is "highly efficacious" and presents no safety concerns, according to a study published in the Lancet on Thursday.

Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, gained emergency approval from the World Health Organization last week and has already been cleared for use in 17 countries.

The UN body has described it as "extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements".

Some of the other approved vaccines must be stored at very low temperatures, which throws up logistical and cost problems.