The World Health Organization (WHO) listed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use Thursday, the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the organization.
The approval could make it possible for other countries to speed up their authorizations of the vaccine, allowing the vaccination to be delivered to the population quickly, Axios reported.
Now that the WHO has approved the vaccine, UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organization will be able to obtain and distribute the vaccine to countries that need it, the news agency said.
“This is a very positive step to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said Mariângela Simão, WHO assistant director general.
“But I want to emphasize the need for an even greater global effort to achieve adequate vaccine supply to meet the needs of priority populations around the world,”
“It is vital that we secure the critical supply needed to serve all countries around the world and halt the pandemic,” added Simão.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer vaccine. An FDA advisory panel at the time published documents stating that the vaccine was highly effective (about 95 percent) in preventing contraction of the coronavirus.
After approval, the vaccine was rolled out and administered to high-risk individuals and health professionals in the U.S. However, the Trump administration has fallen behind in achieving its goal of getting 20 million injections by the end of the year. .
Health experts have warned that many poorer countries will likely have to wait to receive a coronavirus vaccine, as wealthier countries such as Canada pay upfront for excess vaccines.
The timing of the distribution of the vaccines is crucial to eradicating the pandemic, researchers say.
Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky CDC: Only About 1 Million Americans Have Received COVID-19 Vaccine Incoming Biden CDC Director Says She Will Restore Public Briefings., President-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden Trump halts trip to Florida, returns to Washington Thursday Intel vice chairman says cyber-attack by government agencies ‘may have started earlier’ Trump administration releases unconfirmed information about Chinese bounties on US troops in Afghanistan: Report MORE‘s choice to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as stated in her study of vaccines against coronavirus.
Using a model she developed in collaboration with Yale University, Walensky concluded that no matter how effective a vaccine is, the product can lose its effectiveness in a population if the rollout takes too long.
“Suppose you have a 100 percent effective vaccine in every way, but it takes six months to deploy it to 50 percent of the population,” she told Harvard Crimson. “If you only get it for 50 percent of the population, coverage immediately drops to 50 percent.”