Manama, Bahrain:
Bahrain announced on Friday that it had authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, becoming the second nation following Britain to green-light the drug.
“The approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will add a further important layer to the kingdom’s national Covid-19 response,” mentioned Mariam al-Jalahma, CEO of the National Health Regulatory Authority, according to a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Manama did not specify when it would start the rollout of the vaccine by US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and its German companion BioNTech.
Britain on Wednesday mentioned it authorized the Covid-19 vaccine for common use, with plans to begin rolling it out subsequent week.
In November, the tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain authorized the use of China’s Sinopharm vaccine on frontline healthcare workers.
Bahrain has so far recorded extra than 87,000 novel coronavirus circumstances, which includes 341 deaths.
“This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win,” mentioned Lindsey Dietschi, Pfizer representative in the Gulf, according to BNA.
Britain insisted Friday its planet-1st approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine met all security requirements, striving to tamp down any public unease following US and European officials queried the speedy course of action.
Companies have been racing to locate a vaccine for the coronavirus, which has killed more than 1.5 million men and women and infected extra than 65 million due to the fact it emerged in China in December of final year.