KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's health ministry approved on Friday the emergency use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to protect people from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported. The approval for the vaccine, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under a license from AstraZeneca, was given 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, the assistant undersecretary for drug and food control at the ministry, Dr. Abdullah Al-Bader, said in a statement carried by KUNA. 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. Al-Bader emphasized that the ministry will closely monitor the vaccine's safety after using it and will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of people. 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. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for emergency use by the European Medicines Agency and Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory agency, he noted. Al-Bader, moreover, added Serum Institute of India is an accredited vaccine manufacturer by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
