Decoded: What emergency use authorisation of Covid vaccine means for us

After the Indian arm of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the Serum Institute of India has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine in the country. Here’s what it means.  

What is EUA and when is it given?
 

EUA is when an unapproved medical product or unapproved use of an approved medical product is given marketing authorisation by a regulator in an emergency to diagnose, treat or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions.

This is unlike full authorisation, for which the regulator assesses more elaborate data collected