WHO approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization WHO has granted emergency use validation for the PfizerBioNTech Covid19 vaccine opening the door for countries to expedite their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer the vaccineWhile many countries rely on their own regulatory systems for vaccine approvals some countries with weak system depend on WHOs nod to a great extent for rolling out their national vaccination programmesThe WHOs emergency validation also enables Unicef and the PanAmerican Health Organization to procure the vaccine for distribution to countries in need the UN health agency said on ThursdaySeveral countries including the US and the UK have already approved the PfizerBioNTech Covid19 vaccineThis is the first time WHO has granted emergency validation to a Covid19 vaccine since the outbreak began a year agoThis is a very positive step towards ensuring global access to Covid19 vaccines But I want to emphasise the need for an even greater global effort to achieve enough vaccine supply to meet the needs of priority populations everywhere Mariangela Simao WHO AssistantDirector General for Access to Medicines and Health Products said in a statementThe WHO noted that the vaccine requires storage using an ultracold chain it needs to be stored at minus 60 degree C to minus 90 degree CThis requirement makes the vaccine more challenging to deploy in settings where ultracold chain equipment may not be available or reliably accessibleFor that reason WHO is working to support countries in assessing their delivery plans and preparing for use where possibleWHO and our partners are working night and day to evaluate other vaccines that have reached safety and efficacy standards We encourage even more developers to come forward for review and assessmentRegulatory experts convened by WHO from around the world and WHOs own teams reviewed the data on the PfizerBioNTech vaccines safety efficacy and quality as part of a riskversusbenefit analysisThe review found that the vaccine met the musthave criteria for safety and efficacy set out by WHO and that the benefits of using the vaccine to address Covid19 offset potential risksThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever