The World Health Organization says it has licensed Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, meaning poorer countries will soon be able to access the vaccine that is already available in Europe and North America.
Each country that has a drug regulatory body will have to issue its own approval for any COVID-19 vaccine, but countries with weak systems often rely on WHO to review vaccines.
The world body reported Thursday that the decision to issue its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine “opens the door for countries to accelerate their own regulatory approval processes to import and administer the vaccine.”
The UN health agency noted that its review found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has already received approval in the United States, Great Britain, the European Union and a dozen other countries, “met the criteria for safety. and efficacy established by the WHO ”.
BioNTech-Pfizer’s vaccine has to be stored at very low temperatures, which is a major obstacle for developing countries, where the necessary freezers and a reliable power supply may not be available.
“This requirement makes the vaccine more difficult to deploy in settings where cold chain equipment may not be available or reliably accessible,” WHO said, adding that it was “working to support countries in evaluating their delivery plans and in preparing for their use when possible ”.
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