The World Health Organization on Thursday listed the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, making it the first to receive this status since the pandemic began.
The WHO emergency use list opens the door for countries to accelerate their own regulatory approval to import and administer the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
The goal of the procedure, the organization said, is to make medical products such as vaccines available as soon as possible to address public health emergencies, while following strict safety and quality controls.
The review of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine showed that it met WHO safety and efficacy criteria and that the benefits of using the vaccine to address COVID-19 outweigh the potential risks.
The United Kingdom was the first Western country to authorize the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
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