The United Kingdom has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for usage.
Naija News reports that the approval, by the medicines regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), means the vaccine is safe and effective for public use.
Recall that the UK had some weeks back approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – developed by scientists at Oxford University – is said to be between 62 percent and 90 percent effective against the virus.
The UK is said to have ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine which will be administered on 50 million people — two doses each.
This online newspaper reports that the Oxford vaccine was designed in the first months of 2020, tested on the first volunteer in April. It has since been through large-scale clinical trials involving thousands of people.
Also, it can be stored in a standard fridge, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine which needs ultra cold storage at -70C.
Earlier in December, the UK health regulator approved the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine which is said to be 95 percent effective.
The UK began vaccination of the most vulnerable group in the country earlier in the month.
A new strain of the infection which is said to be 70 times more contagious has been discovered in the country.
source https://www.naijanews.com/2020/12/30/uk-approves-oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-for-usage/
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