The World Health Organization has granted the Oxford / AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine a list of emergencies, paving the way for its wider spread worldwide, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Monday.
The WHO list applies to the part of the vaccine that is distributed mainly to low- and middle-income countries. The producers will be the Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca-SKBio of Korea.
This is only the second time that the WHO has provided an emergency listing list, the first time for the BioNTech / Pfizer survey on 31 December.
The list will mean that countries that receive the jab through COVAX – the global provisioning mechanism for coronavirus vaccination – can use the WHO’s recommendation for their own national approval process and start receiving doses. More generally, the WHO’s list of emergency uses is useful for countries deciding whether to approve a vaccine. The first COVAX vaccines will be distributed later this month.
“Countries with no access to vaccines so far will eventually be able to vaccinate their health workers and populations, contributing to the goal of the COVAX facility to distribute fair vaccination,” said Mariângela Simão, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for access to medicines and health products, during a personal information session.
It is not necessary for countries to be in a hurry to complete bilateral transactions, as these agreements will increase competition for scarce goods and prices, she added.
The announcement follows the recommendation of the WHO’s strategic advisory group of experts on immunization on 10 February for the Oxford / Astrazeneca jab for all adults, regardless of age. SAGE also supported the vaccine at sites where coronavirus variants are circulating.
The WHO has repeatedly asked drug manufacturers to submit data on time so that it can expedite the list of emergency use.