EU drug regulator clears AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for all adults

The European Union’s drug regulator on Friday cleared AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for all adults.

The European Medicines Agency recommended that the European Commission grant conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine, which was co-developed by the University of Oxford, for use in people aged 18 and older.

The vaccine is the third that the agency has recommended for approval; it previously recommended Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, as well as a vaccine from Moderna.

“Today’s recommendation underscores the value of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine which is not only effective and well-tolerated, but also easy to administer and, importantly, protects fully against severe disease and hospitalizations,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.

“We are deeply grateful to Oxford University, participants in the clinical trials and AstraZeneca colleagues for their unwavering commitment to providing this lifesaving vaccine to millions of Europeans,” he said.

Context: AstraZeneca has not yet asked for authorization in the U.S., where trials are still ongoing. But the EU’s approval is a good sign.