Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, embarked on a three-day visit to the United States on Wednesday where he will address the UN General Assembly and attend the Quad Summit as well as hold a bilateral meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
Meanwhile, TV producer Nikhil Alva said he was "perplexed to hear that Modi is off to the USA that doesn’t recognise Covaxin". He further questioned if the PM has really taken the indigenously-produced vaccine.
Taking to Twitter, the producer of 'Indian Idol' and 'MTV Roadies' wrote: "Like our PM, I too got jabbed with our Atamnirbhar COVAXIN. Now other than Iran & Nepal and a handful more, I can’t travel anywhere in the world. Which is why I’m perplexed to hear that our PM is off to the USA, that doesn’t recognise COVAXIN. So which vaccine did he really take?"
Many others also took to Twitter and asked the same question.
Congress' National Co-coordinator Social Media Vinay Kumar Dokania wrote, "How is PM Modi allowed in the USA when he has taken the Covaxin vaccine jab which the USA doesnt recognize?"
"How is Modi allowed in to the USA with the Covaxin vaccine which is not recognised by them? Legit Q," wrote journalist Swati Chaturvedi.
Check out the tweets below:
Reportedly, Covaxin was not given approval for emergency use in the United States by the country's top public health regulator -- the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA had requested additional information and data on Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
According to an official statement, the FDA has asked Ocugen (Bharat Biotech's US partner) to submit additional trial data so that it can file for a Biologics Licence Application (BLA), which is a full approval, instead of the emergency use approval.
Meanwhile, the company has submitted all the documents required for emergency use listing (EUL) to the WHO and the nod is expected this week. "The World Health Organization (WHO) is likely to grant approval to India’s indigenously manufactured Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, for an emergency use listing (EUL), this week," sources told news agency ANI on Monday.
Countries that have approved Covaxin:
1. Guyana
2. Iran
3. Mauritius
4. Mexico
5. Nepal
6. Paraguay
7. Philippines
8. Zimbabwe
Besides, Estonia has approved Covaxin for vaccine passport.
