MASSIVE: UK approves Oxford-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine; touts 'Moment of hope'

The Coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has been authorized for emergency use in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. According to the British media reports, it has been given the go-ahead by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

'The vaccine is our way out of the pandemic'

Taking to Twitter, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the development and said, "Brilliant to end 2020 with such a moment of hope." "The Coronavirus vaccine is our way out of the pandemic- now we need to hold our nerve while we get through this together," he said. 

"Government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for use," the UK government said.

AstraZeneca CEO on the UK approving vaccine

The UK has ordered 100 million doses from the manufacturer AstraZeneca - enough to vaccinate 50 million people. Independent analysis published in The Lancet also confirmed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective after looking into phase 3 data of a vaccine trial. It is the second vaccine to be approved in the UK after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given the go-ahead in December. More than 600,000 people in the UK have been vaccinated since Margaret Keenan became the first in the world to get the vaccine outside of a clinical trial.

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AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said, "Today is an important day for millions of people in the U.K. who will get access to this new vaccine. It has been shown to be effective, well-tolerated, simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit. We would like to thank our many colleagues at AstraZeneca, Oxford University, the UK government and the tens of thousands of clinical trial participants."

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Meanwhile, the Serum Institute of India has already produced around 50 million dosages of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' and plans to scale it up to 100 million by March next year even as it awaits approval for emergency use authorisation, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Monday. In order to introduce an urgently needed vaccine against COVID-19 in India, Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has entered into a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture Covishield. The Pune-based company has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine in the country. By next month, the vaccine can also be approved in India, he noted.

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(With agency inputs)