In key global move, WHO accords emergency use approval to Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID Vaccine

In a significant development, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday issued its first authorisation to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for ‘emergency use’, making the shots accessible to developing countries. The vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company has passed the criteria for safety and efficacy set out by the WHO and the benefits of using it to combat the disease negated the potential risks. The mRNA-based vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is already available in Europe and the United States.

The WHO said that its clearance for the emergency of COVID-19 vaccine “opens the door for countries to expedite their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer the vaccine. It also enables UNICEF to procure the vaccine for distribution to countries in need.” Every country that has a drug regulatory agency issues its own approval for any vaccine, but countries with weak systems usually rely on WHO to examine the shots.

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The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine requires storage at ultra-frozen temperatures, posing a big hurdle for developing countries that may lack the number of required freezers and reliable electricity supply. 

“This requirement makes the vaccine more challenging to deploy in settings where ultra-cold chain equipment may not be available or reliably accessible,” the WHO said, adding that it was “working to support countries in assessing their delivery plans and preparing for use where possible”.

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Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine contains messenger RNA (mRNA), which is a new unproven method as opposed to the traditional inactivated virus method used by some of the other vaccine manufacturers. The trial results suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 90 per cent effective, which is a higher efficacy rate given that US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had said any vaccine with more than 50% effectiveness will be considered safe for use. 

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More than 600,000 people in the UK have been administered the first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as part of one of the largest vaccination campaign. Between December 8 and 20, an estimated 616,933 people were inoculated in the UK, 521,594 in England, 56,676 in Scotland, some 22,595 in Wales, and close to 16,068 in Northern Ireland, according to the figures published by the British Department of Health and Social Care

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