Vaccines are on the move across the globe, as AstraZeneca, Moderna and Gamaleya Institute get the green-light for their Covid-19 vaccines in different countries.

AstraZeneca said its vaccine had received emergency use authorisation in India, Argentina, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Morocco.

“The approval in India is an important milestone as it will enable to supply India but also a large number of countries around the world,” the company said referring to its alliance with Serum Institute of India (SII).

AstraZeneca (AZ) has submitted a substantial data package to support a conditional marketing authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as part of an ongoing rolling review process and will continue to work closely with the EMA to seek approval in the coming weeks, it said.

The company was also seeking Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to enable its use in low-income countries. Pfizer had recently got the emergency use listing approvals from the WHO for its vaccine.

Safety, efficacy data

Further, AZ said, it was conducting a large trial in the US as part of a global programme. In total, the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca expected to enrol more than 60,000 participants worldwide. Additional safety and efficacy data will continue to accumulate from ongoing clinical trials, the company said.

American biotech company Moderna said, the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) to its Covid-19 vaccine, allowing vaccination programs with its vaccine to be rolled out across the EU.

The EU is the fourth jurisdiction to authorise Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, it said, following the US, Canada and Israel. Additional authorisations are under review in Singapore, Switzerland and the UK, it added. Meanwhile, Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is making inroads into Bolivia, Belarus and Serbia.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) said its vaccine was registered by health authorities in Bolivia. “The vaccine was registered under the emergency use authorization procedure andwas approved by AGEMED based on the results of phase-III clinical trials in Russia, without additional trials in Bolivia,” RDIF said.

Sputnik V has been registered in Argentina under a similar procedure it added. “Phase III clinical trial data obtained in Russia was also accepted by regulators in Serbia and Belarus to register Sputnik V and begin the vaccination of the population,” it said, adding that Serbia started its vaccination in January and Belarus, late in December.

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