The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health has already issued the authorization for the emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for drug and food control, said in a statement that it was issued “after a detailed review of all relevant scientific data and reports and after conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the vaccine’s safety, efficacy and quality.”

He added that a ministry technical committee also reviewed the results of the vaccine clinical trials, particularly those related to the effectiveness and safety aspects of the vaccine.

They will begin receiving the first batch of the vaccine doses within days to help accelerate the vaccination campaign.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under a license from AstraZeneca, was approved for emergency use by the European Medicines Agency and Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Al-Bader noted.

The ministry official also unveiled that Kuwait will receive the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses within days to help accelerate the vaccination campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Al-Bader emphasized that the ministry will closely monitor the vaccine’s safety after using it and will take all necessary measures to ensure safety of people. (ES)