WHO: Covifenz tobacco vaccine won’t get approval for emergency use
The World Health Organization has said that Quebec’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine will “very likely” not be approved for emergency use.
Starting at 12.44 in the video: “Due to its connections — it’s partially owned by Philip Morris — so the process is put on hold,” said Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director-general for drug access, vaccines and pharmaceuticals. “It’s well known the WHO and the UN have a very strict policy regarding engagement with the tobacco and arms industry, so the process is put on hold. It’s very likely it won’t be accepted for emergency use listing.”
The vaccine, called Covifenz, made by Medicago, uses the plant Nicotiana benthamiana, a close relative to tobacco, to combat Covid-19 infections.
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