WHO approves the first vaccine against COVID-19 made in Latin America

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved this Thursday the first anticovid immunizer made in Latin America.

It is an AstraZeneca vaccine produced jointly by the Argentine biopharmaceutical company mAbxience, which reproduces its active pharmaceutical ingredient, and Laboratorios Liomont de México, which mixes and finishes the product for final distribution.

The regionally produced AstraZeneca vaccine is already being used in some Latin American countries, but its inclusion in the WHO emergency use list facilitate their acquisition and distribution through mechanisms for cooperation and vaccine distribution such as the PAHO Revolving Fund and Covax.

Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), welcomed the news.

“A milestone for Latin America”

“This is an important milestone for Latin America and highlights the importance of technology transfer to increase the availability of quality covid-19 vaccines in the region,” he said.

The PAHO director added that the approval of the vaccine was achieved thanks to the engagement of the public and private sectors in Argentina and Mexico and “investments made in the development of a scientific and technological base and in regulatory oversight.”

“We remain committed to continuing to support our countries to increase the production of critical drugs,” he added.

Receiving the green light from WHO serves to tell health regulators of each country that it is a safe and effective vaccine.

It also means that the vaccine can be used in the global Covax program, which aims to provide around 2 billion vaccines to developing countries.

In Latin America, other locally manufactured vaccines are already used, such as Soberana 02 and Abdala, both from Cuba, but the WHO has not yet given them the green light.