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WHO Lists First Vaccine For Emergency Use

  • 18 Nov 2020

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Indonesia’s nOPV2 vaccine as the first ever vaccine for emergency use.
  • The nOPV2 vaccine will be used to combat outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio viruses (cVDPVs).
  • cVDPVs: These are rare and occur if the weakened strain of the poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) circulates among under-immunised populations for a long time. If not enough children are immunised, the weakened strain can spread between individuals and genetically revert back to a form that can cause paralysis over time. Type 2 cVDPVs are currently the most prevalent form of the vaccine-derived virus.
  • Emergency Use Listing (EUL): The EUL procedure assesses the suitability of as yet unlicensed health products to combat health emergencies, such as polio or COVID-19. Numerous COVID-19 diagnostics have also received EUL but nOPV2 is the first vaccine.