Sweden receives first shipment of AstraZeneca's vaccine

The first shipment of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Sweden, reported Xinhua, quoting local news agency TT on Saturday.

Christina Malmberg Hagerstrand, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company's Director of Corporate External Communications for the Nordic and Baltic countries, told TT it was the first lot of several planned for the coming months. It arrived in Sweden on Saturday morning, two days ahead of schedule. She did not reveal how many doses were in the consignment.

The country of origin and means of transport used for the consignment were confidential, the news agency reported.

Several countries have voiced concerns regarding the vaccine's efficacy among the elderly since it was approved by the European Medicines Agency on Jan. 29. Sweden is one of those and the country's Public Health Agency recently recommended it should not be used to inoculate people aged 65 years or above. This recommendation could be withdrawn, subject to proof the vaccine also protects the elderly.

The shipment arrived as Sweden was preparing for Phase 2 of its vaccination program. The first to get the vaccine belonged to the oldest population. Now, those aged 65 or above will be offered a chance to get protection from COVID-19. Younger individuals with certain medical conditions, e.g. those who need dialysis or have undergone transplantation, are also included, meaning AstraZeneca's vaccine could be used to inoculate them.

The vaccine from AstraZeneca was the third to get approval in Europe, after Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were given the greenlights in late December and early January.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 238 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Feb. 2.