The authorisation recommends two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose.

AstraZeneca aims to supply millions of doses in the first quarter as part of an agreement with the government to supply up to 100 million doses in total.

Commenting on the development, Pascal Soriot, CEO said, "Today is an important day for millions of people in the UK who will get access to this new vaccine. It has been shown to be effective, well-tolerated, simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit. We would like to thank our many colleagues at AstraZeneca, Oxford University, the UK government and the tens of thousands of clinical trial participants."

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,19,97,042 with 17,89,908 deaths.

India reported 2,62,272 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,48,439 deaths while 98,34,141 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

AstraZeneca Pharma India is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines for core areas of healthcare, including cardiovascular/metabolic disease, cancer and respiratory, inflammatory and autoimmune disease.