Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine approved by the United Kingdom regulator

London, Dec 31: The Oxford University/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine has been approved by the United Kingdom regulator.

The government today accepted the recommendation of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for use, the UK government said. This mens that the vaccine is both safe and effective.

Developed in the early months of 2020 it was tested on the first volunteer in April. Since then it has been through large scale clinical trials involving 1000s of people. This is the second jab to be approved in the UK after the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine.

The approval of Oxford University/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine will lead to a significant increase in the vaccination as it is easy to mass produce and is cheap.

It can be stored in a standard fridge, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech jab which needs ultra cold storage at -70C.