After it was given emergency approval in Britain and the US, European Union’s medicines regulator the European Medicine’s Agency (EMA) authorised the use of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in the 27 countries that make up the EU.
EMA Chief Emer Cooke said in an online press conference, “I am delighted to announce that the EMA scientific committee met today and recommended a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.”
The vaccine will begin to be administered to 448 million inhabitants of the EU in the coming days.
Cooke also said, “This is really a historic scientific achievement, within less than a year a vaccine will have been developed and authorised against this disease.”
“Our thorough evaluation means that we can confidently assure EU citizens of the safety and efficacy of this vaccine and that it meets necessary quality standards,” he added.
Amid the news of the new, more transmissible strain of the coronavirus that has heavily infected Britain, Cooke affirmed, “At this moment there is no evidence to suggest this vaccine will not work against the new variant.”
(inputs from Hindustan Times and BBC)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)