WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday endorsed the United Kingdom's authorization of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the tandem of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2020) WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday endorsed the United Kingdom's authorization of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the tandem of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech.
In mid-November, Pfizer announced that their candidate vaccine concluded phase 3 clinical trials, with a declared efficacy level of 95 percent. On Wednesday, the United Kingdom authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, becoming the first country to do so.
"This week, I was pleased to see that the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency gave an emergency authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for rollout," Tedros said at a briefing, describing the authorization as an "important scientific step for the world as vaccines will be critical in the battle against COVID-19."
Pfizer's mRNA-based vaccine comes with a significant logistical disadvantage, as its storage and transportation conditions require as cold of an environment as -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit).
Other vaccine candidates that have already declared their efficacy level include those developed by US pharmaceutical company Moderna, UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca,and Russia's Gamaleya research institute all of them with less demanding logistical properties.
