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The British Medicines Regulatory Authority (MHRA) approved the domestic vaccine, the Health Ministry announced in London on Wednesday. This means that after the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine, there is another preparation available for vaccination in the country.
EU approval unlikely in January
The UK is the first country in the world to approve the Oxford vaccine. The regulatory backing is a welcome boost for AstraZeneca and the Oxford team, who have been accused of lacking clarity on the results of the late-stage studies. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), on the other hand, believes that AstraZeneca’s corona vaccine is unlikely to be approved in the European Union in January.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a sample of the now approved corona vaccine. Image: POOL (Reuters)
“From the beginning, we assumed that approval would be in February 2021,” Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Grne) told the APA on Tuesday. “We have aligned our vaccination strategy accordingly. AstraZeneca will be used as a vaccine from the second quarter of 2021 at the latest,” said the department head. At this stage, the vaccine should be distributed to the general Austrian population, as announced. EMA Deputy Director Noel Wathion had earlier stated Tuesday that AstraZeneca “had not even submitted an application to us.”
The first vaccinations with it in Britain should start shortly after the turn of the year, he said. Two doses should be given per person four to twelve weeks apart. The company wants to make millions of doses of vaccines available in the first quarter of 2021, and there is a full contract for the delivery of up to 100 million doses.
