03/12/2021 13:10
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 03/12/2021 1:26 PM
The World Health Organization (WHO) included this Friday the COVID-19 Ad26.COV2.S vaccine, developed by Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), for
emergency use in all countries
and for the implementation of Covax.
The decision is supported by the authorization of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which was announced this Thursday.
"Each new, safe and effective tool against COVID-19 is another step towards controlling the pandemic," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But the hope these tools offer will not materialize unless they are
available to all people in all countries
.
I urge governments and businesses to meet their commitments and use all the solutions at their disposal to increase production, so that these tools become truly global public goods, available and affordable for all, and a shared solution to the global crisis, "said Ghebreyesus.
Janssen's vaccine is the first single-dose vaccine to be licensed by the WHO.
When the world suffers from a shortage of vaccines to mitigate the covid-19 pandemic, a single-dose vaccine should facilitate vaccination logistics wherever it goes.
"The extensive data from large clinical trials shared by the company also show that the vaccine is effective in older populations," the WHO noted.
To accelerate the inclusion of the vaccine among the recognized tools against coronavirus, the WHO and a team of scientists from different regions of the world adopted what is called an "abbreviated evaluation", based on the results of the review of the EMA and the quality, safety data assessment focusing on the needs of low- and middle-income countries.
"Although the vaccine must be stored at -20 °, which can be challenging in some settings, it can be stored for three months at 2-8 °, and has a shelf life of two years," explains the WHO in a statement.
News in development.
LGP