The World Health Organization listed two of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccines for emergency use on Monday, only the second instance of approvals granted since the pandemic began and an important step towards broader access to vaccines globally.
The emergency authorization status — coming a month and a half after WHO approved the first such designation for Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine Comirnaty® — allows the COVAX Facility to distribute these vaccines to low-income and developing countries and helps more nations speed up their own COVID-19 vaccine approvals, the U.N. health agency said in a statement.
