Kuwait authorises emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

Agencies | Kuwait 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health has authorised the emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to protect people from the novel coronavirus.

The authorisation was issued after a detailed review of all relevant scientific data and reports and after conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the vaccine's safety, efficacy and quality, Assistant Undersecretary for drug and food control Dr Abdullah Al-Bader said in a press statement on Friday.

He added that a ministry technical committee also reviewed the results of the vaccine clinical trials, particularly those related to the effectiveness and safety aspects of the vaccine, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

Al-Bader emphasised that the ministry will closely monitor the vaccine's safety after using it and will take all necessary measures to ensure safety of people.

The ministry’s official also unveiled that Kuwait will receive the first batch of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine doses within days to help accelerate the vaccination campaign.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under a license from AstraZeneca, was approved for emergency use by the European Medicines Agency and Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, he noted.

Al-Bader added that the Serum Institute of India is an accredited vaccine manufacturer by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).