Australia has approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for use on Monday, January 25. Although, it has cautioned that the country would plan to distribute locally manufactured earlier than planned in the wake of production problems.
According to reports published in Reuters, Australia medical regulator body is one of the first that given a comprehensive approval to the BioNtech vaccine.
Health Minister, Greg Hunt told media that the country is expected to start vaccinating people from late February with 80,000 doses per week.
Pfizer roll out notice came after the Astra-Zeneca told European Union that it would cut its deliveries to the bloc by 60% due to problems in the production.
Hunt told media that as there will be supply problem with Astra Zeneca, the Pfizer told Australia that they have significant amount of supply of the vaccine.
Astra-Zeneca vaccine has not got approval from Australia yet. The target of Australia is 4 million doses by April. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had earlier approved the vaccine for Australians above 16 years age.