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| A medical syringe is seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken Oct. 31, 2020. Reuters |
Ecuador has approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, the health ministry said on Sunday.
AstraZeneca's vaccine is the second that the National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Surveillance has registered for use. A pilot program that provides the Pfizer Inc vaccine to medical personnel and in nursing homes began last week when the first doses arrived.
"The agency authorized imports of approximately five million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which will be applied to 2.5 million Ecuadoreans," the ministry added in a statement. "It will allow Ecuador to strengthen the process of containing the disease to achieve herd immunity."
The health ministry did not say when the AstraZeneca doses will arrive, but has said mass vaccination will start in March.
The government said last week it has guaranteed access to 18 million doses that will be used to vaccinate 9 million Ecuadoreans over 18 years old for free this year.
Ecuador allocated some $200 million to buy vaccines, according to health authorities.
In recent weeks, the Andean nation has registered an increase in the speed of transmission of the virus in several cities, leaving hospital intensive care units almost at capacity.
Ecuador has reported 241,292 infections and 9,968 deaths from the coronavirus, according to health ministry data. The government also estimates that another 4,655 probably died of COVID-19 before being diagnosed. (Reuters)
