WHO approved emergency use of two versions of AstraZeneca vaccine – Telam

WHO approved emergency use of two versions of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the approval of the emergency use of two versions of the coronavirus vaccine produced by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which paves the way for distribution in countries with difficult access to vaccination.

“Today (February 15), the WHO authorized the emergency use of two versions of the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Oxford-AstraZeneca and gave the green light for these vaccines to be introduced to the world via Covax “, the organization tweeted today.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca antigen This is the second authorized by the WHO, after the approval of Pfizer-BioNTech on December 31 and gave the green light to be part of the Covax initiative.

“Countries without access to vaccines until now may finally be able to start immunizing their health workers and the most vulnerable populations,” said Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO Deputy Director-General for Access drugs.

This procedure, which the United Nations (UN) can use in the event of a health emergency, helps countries that do not have the means to determine for themselves the efficacy and safety of a medicine, in order to have faster access.

In this sense, it will also allow the Covax initiative, co-led by the WHO, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness, to begin its distribution to ensure equitable access to vaccines.

The two approved versions of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, to be manufactured in South Korea and India, account for the vast majority of the 337.2 million doses of vaccine for Covax., led by WHO, the Alliance for Immunization (Gavi) and the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness (Cepi), wants to distribute in the first half of this year.

Last week, the WHO expert committee already recommended the drug to anyone over the age of 18, including in countries where the most contagious variants of the virus circulate.

And this despite the fact that the AstraZeneca product has raised doubts about its effectiveness in people over 65 or in the face of the mutation detected in South Africa.

For the WHO and its experts, however, this vaccine perfectly meets the priorities of the moment: limit the severity and mortality of an epidemic that has already claimed more than 2.4 million lives in one year.

The two approved versions of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which will be manufactured in South Korea and India, account for the vast majority of the 337.2 million doses of vaccine for Covax.“

It is already applied in many countries, starting with the United Kingdom since December.

Although it is considered to be less effective than the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which first used the messenger RNA technique, AstraZeneca’s drug has the great advantage of being able to be stored in refrigeration systems. classic.

This ease of storage of the vaccine is crucial information for the 92 countries and territories that will receive it free of charge. by Covax.

Its so-called “viral vector” technology makes it much cheaper: around 2.5 euros or 3 dollars per dose, with variations depending on local production costs.

The British laboratory has also promised not to take advantage of this product.

But, like other manufacturers, AstraZeneca is struggling to meet the huge demand for the drug and has had to look to partner companies to be able to produce more quantities.

Despite all these initiatives, the process of getting vaccines to the most disadvantaged countries is long.

Although the number of doses applied worldwide already exceeds the number of recorded cases of COVID-19, three-quarters of these vaccines were made in just 10 countries, accounting for 60% of global GDP, as the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.