Sydney, Australia:
Australia’s medical regulator, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved the Oxford University – AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for use in Australia.
The vaccine is the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia – and the decision comes a day after WHO (World Health Organisation) authorised emergency authorization to AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. The first vaccine to receive approval for use in Australia by the TGA was the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The exact rollout date of the AstraZeneca vaccine is uncertain, however Health Minister Greg Hunt has said around 1 million doses a week would be made available from the end of March.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been authorized in more than 50 countries, including Britain, India, Argentina and Mexico. It is cheaper and easier to handle than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which needs deep-cold storage. Both vaccines require two shots per person, given weeks apart.
