Switzerland approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

Berlin, Dec 19: Switzerland has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and German pharmaceutical company BioNTech.

The country''s health agency Swissmedic said in a written statement Saturday that the vaccine had been approved for the small Alpine country after a careful examination by expert teams. The agency did not say when vaccinations in Switzerland would begin.

The approval comes shortly after Britain, Canada, the United States and other countries allowed the use of the vaccine in their respective countries.

The director of Swissmedic said "Thanks to the rolling process and our flexible teams we could quickly decide and fully accommodate the three most important requirements security, efficacy and quality." Raimund Bruhin added that, "The safety of the patients is a required condition especially regarding the approval of vaccines."