British COVID-19 Vaccine Authorized in India and Other Countries

British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca announced its COVID-19 vaccine had been granted emergency use authorization in India for adults' active immunization.

The COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalizations more than 14 days after the second dose.

The approval is an important milestone as it will enable AstraZeneca to supply India and many countries worldwide. AstraZeneca has partnered with Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, for the supply of the vaccine to the Indian Government and a large number of countries such as Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Morocco.

AstraZeneca stated it is working with its global partners to continue building manufacturing capacity of up to 3 billion doses of the vaccine globally in 2021, on a rolling basis, pending regulatory approvals.

Adar Poonawalla, the CEO, Serum Institute of India, said in a press release: "The pandemic of 2020, however devastating - brought public and private institutions, health authorities, governments of various countries, and most importantly the global communities together to pose a resilient front against the virus."