Rotavac becomes India’s first indigenously developed vaccine to be pre-qualified by WHO

India’s first indigenously developed vaccine “Rotavac” has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America. The vaccine was developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited (BBL) and was included in India’s national immunisation programme. The Rotavac vaccine protects against childhood diarrhea caused by the rotavirus. Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea and kills more than 200,000 children every year.