The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday has granted emergency approval for the India-made coronavirus vaccine NVX-CoV2373, also known as Covovax, to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries. “This listing aims to increase access particularly in lower-income countries, 41 of which have still not been able to vaccinate 10 percent of their populations, while 98 countries have not reached 40 percent,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, assistant-director general at WHO, said in a statement. Covovax, manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) under license from American company Novavax, requires two doses and is stable at 2 and 8 degrees Celsius refrigerated temperatures. The newly WHO-listed vaccine uses a novel platform and is produced by creating an engineered baculovirus containing a gene for a modified SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of the Serum Institute of India, said in a statement that Covovax is “the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine option” to …