Which countries have approved Oxford coronavirus vaccine?

Team Udayavani, Jan 4, 2021, 12:09 PM IST

India has become the fourth country to approve Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, Covishield, for emergency use.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine showed an average efficacy of 70.4%, with no hospitalisations or severe disease, according to the data.

Apart from India, Britain, Argentina and El Salvador have also given a nod to the vaccine. The authorisation is for two full doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks

As reported by LiveMint, The vaccine is “virus-vectored”, which means it is a version of a virus that normally infects chimpanzees and has been modified with a portion of the COVID-19 called the “spike protein” to fire the immune system. Once in human cells, the vaccine should help stimulate the production of antibodies that recognize the virus.

Also, Cheaper and easier to distribute than rival vaccines, the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is by far the most significant in the global fight against the novel coronavirus.

AstraZeneca is also in discussions with the European Union’s European Medicines Agency, which is conducting a rolling review of the vaccine.