Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in UK

UK approved Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, with the first doses being released on Wednesday. The vaccine developed by the Oxford University has shown 70 per cent efficacy, which can go up to 90 per cent under certain conditions. UK has already approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in December, and has started a vaccination drive in the country.

This is significant for India, as the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has tied up with AstraZeneca to deploy the vaccine in the country.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the ‘Oxford vaccine’ doesn’t require below-zero refrigeration. It is more conducive to be distributed in India.

AstraZeneca said the authorisation was for a two dose regime, and that the vaccine had been approved for use for emergency supply. Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.

The approval by the UK government follows rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by the MHRA, which says the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.