BackCOVID-19 vaccine: AstraZeneca seeks EU approval for Oxford vaccine
A decision could come by 29 January, the European Medicines Agency addedBritain, Argentina and India had earlier approved the emergency marker use of AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine
PremiumAstraZeneca and Oxford University had filed a formal bid for authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine, the European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday. A decision could come by 29 January, the agency added."EMA has received an application for conditional marketing authorisation for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University," the Amsterdam-based regulator said in a statement.
"An opinion on the marketing authorisation could be issued by 29 January... provided that the data submitted on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine are sufficiently robust and complete," it said.
Britain, Argentina and India had approved the emergency marker use of AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine. The 'virus-vectored' vaccine uses a weakened version of a chimpanzee common coldvirus that encodes instructions for making proteins from the novel coronavirus to generate an immune response and prevent infection. Once in human cells, the vaccine should help stimulate the production of antibodies that recognizee the virus. Researchers claim the vaccine protected against disease in 62% of those given two full doses and in 90% of those initially given a half dose.
Compared to the vaccines by United States drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna, Covishield is "logistically feasible for distribution in the country's both urban and rural parts as it can be stored at two to eight degrees celsius." One of the major advantages of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be its cost. It will be priced at $2-$3 per dose. AstraZeneca signed an agreement with Serum Institute of India to produce 1 billion Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for low-and-middle income countries.
'Easy to produce' and 'easy to handle' Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine would become “vaccine for the world," the developers believed
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