KATHMANDU, MARCH 14

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday approved the Covid-19 vaccine created by Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) for emergency use in all countries and for COVAX roll-out.

The Covid-19 vaccine (Ad26.COV2-S [recombinant]) manufactured by Janssen–Cilag International NV is the first single-dose vaccine approved for emergency use and fourth vaccine in the total WHO-approved vaccine list following two-dose vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna.

This WHO follows the approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) while adopting an 'abbreviated assessment' based on outcomes of the EMA review, and evaluation of quality, safety and efficacy data focused on low- and the middle-income country needs, according to WHO.

The vaccine needs to be stored at -20 degrees and can be kept for three months at 2-8°C and has a long shelf life of two years.

'Every new, safe and effective tool against COVID-19 is another step closer to controlling the pandemic,' said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 'But the hope offered by these tools will not materialize unless they are made available to all people in all countries.'