A World Health Organization panel recommended AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine for all adults over 18, paving the way to speed up inoculations in developing countries. The recommendation may encourage more countries to use the vaccine broadly, after some European Union members advised against giving it to the elderly because of insufficient trial data. The shot’s effect in older people is expected to be the same as for younger recipients, according to Alejandro Cravioto, chairman of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.
The move is good news for developing countries, many of which are waiting to administer their first shots as wealthier countries have already inoculated millions of residents. AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine with the University of Oxford, has pledged significant supplies to Covax, a facility that aims to distribute vaccines equitably around the world.
Pfizer Two Months Ahead of Schedule on Additional 100 Million Doses of Vaccine
Pfizer’s plant in Portage has been manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines that are shipping out to communities around the world, and soon more doses would likely end up in the arms of Michigan residents. Representatives for the company testified before the Michigan House Health Policy Committee on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, saying the ability to extract six doses from vials, combined with increasing production, means they’re on pace to deliver 100 million additional vaccines in the U.S. ahead of schedule.
The additional doses were initially scheduled to be delivered by the end of July, but the timeline has been pushed up until the end of May.“We’ll continue to work tirelessly to be as transparent as possible about our supply efforts and to ramp up manufacturing capacity to help meet demand and combat the pandemic,” said Lisa Coen, a public affairs attorney for Pfizer.