The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use on Thursday.
The vaccine, which goes by the name of Comirnaty, is the first coronavirus vaccine to be approved by the agency and added to its Emergency Use List (EUL), according to the announcement.
The WHO emergency use authorization follows approval of the vaccine by the US FDA on December 11 and by the European Commission on December 21.
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By adding the vaccine to the WHO Emergency Use List, the agency made it easier for countries to “speed up their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer the vaccine,” the announcement said.
EUL also allows UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization to obtain and distribute the vaccine to countries in need.
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In Thursday’s announcement, Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Deputy Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products, stressed the need for worldwide access to the vaccine.
“This is a very positive step towards ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said Simão. “But I want to emphasize the need for an even greater global effort to achieve sufficient vaccine supply to meet the needs of priority populations in all the places.”
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“WHO and our partners are working day and night to evaluate other vaccines that have reached safety and efficacy standards,” added Simão. “We encourage even more developers to come forward for review and evaluation. It is vitally important that we ensure the supply necessary to serve all countries around the world and contain the pandemic. ”
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WHO has not specified what role, if any, vaccine approval can play in its COVAX strategy, which aims to provide access to COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries. However, the agency said the vaccine is under policy review.
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The Strategic Advisory Group of Immunization Specialists will be formulating “specific vaccine policies and recommendations” for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in the new year, according to the announcement.
The agency will also be helping countries that do not have immediate access to ultra-cold chain equipment, since the vaccine must be stored between -60 ° C and -90 ° C.