The World Health Organization (WHO) listed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Thursday, the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the organization.
The approval could allow other countries to expedite vaccine authorizations, allowing rapid application of inoculation to populations, Axios said.
Now that WHO has approved the vaccine, UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization will be able to obtain and distribute the vaccine to countries that need it, according to the outlet.
“This is a very positive step to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said WHO Deputy Director-General Mariângela 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 everywhere,”
“It is vitally important to guarantee the critical supply necessary to serve all countries in the world and contain the pandemic,” added Simão.
Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer vaccine. At the time, an FDA advisory panel published documents stating that the vaccine was highly effective (about 95%) in preventing coronavirus contraction.
After its approval, the vaccine was launched and administered to individuals at risk and health professionals in the United States. However, the Trump administration lagged behind in its progress towards reaching the goal of getting 20 million vaccines administered by the end of the year.
Health experts have warned that many poorer countries are likely to have to wait to get a coronavirus vaccine, as wealthier countries like Canada pay in advance for surplus quantities of vaccines.
The timing when vaccines are distributed is crucial to eradicate the pandemic, according to the researchers.
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Using a model she developed in partnership with Yale University, Walensky concluded that, regardless of how effective a vaccine is, the product can lose effectiveness in a population if the launch takes too long.
“Let’s say you have, for all intents and purposes, a 100 percent effective vaccine, but it takes six months to be implanted in 50 percent of the population,” she told Harvard Crimson. “If you take it to just 50 percent of the population, your coverage drops to 50 percent immediately. “