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AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccine Rebranding to 'Vaxzevria' Ahead of International Travel Restart - ABC

Rejected submission by upstart at 2021-08-06 09:38:26
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AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine rebranding to 'Vaxzevria' ahead of international travel restart - ABC News [abc.net.au]:

AstraZeneca has become a household name, but its COVID-19 vaccine will soon be rebranded to help smooth the pathway for millions of Australians hoping to travel overseas once the international border reopens.

Key points:

  • The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Australia will be renamed Vaxzevria to bring it into line with its overseas name
  • The rebrand has been approved in Europe and the company wants to ensure there is no potential confusion as internaitonal travel restarts
  • A technicality also means the Australian-made version is not approved in Europe, because Australian manufacturer CSL doesn't operate there

The vaccine was originally called COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca but has now been officially renamed "Vaxzevria" and approved by Europe's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency.

In Australia, the AstraZeneca vaccine being made by biotechnology company CSL is still going by its old name, causing some confusion and creating concern it could be seen as different to the same vaccine being made overseas.

To overcome any potential issues, AstraZeneca is in the process of registering the name Vaxzevria with Australia's regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

"Although it is not affecting travel to the EU … the TGA has already had initial discussions with the European Medicines Agency (and other overseas regulators) on regulatory approaches to vaccine recognition," the TGA said in a statement.

Federal Labor has been raising concerns about the potential issue and has written to the Foreign Minister and Health Minister urging them to ensure that once fully-vaccinated Australians can travel again, their vaccinations will actually be recognised.

"We understand that Australians fully vaccinated with the Australian-made AstraZeneca vaccine are currently unlikely to be recognised as being fully vaccinated when travelling to European Union countries by EU authorities," the Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler said in a statement.

"This is causing significant concern and distress in the community, as fully vaccinated Australians rightly expect their vaccination to be recognised by other countries when travelling internationally."

Technicality means Australian-made vaccines not authorised in Europe

Separately, high-level Australian officials are also lobbying their European counterparts to recognise the Melbourne-made AstraZeneca shot on vaccine certificates "so it does not become a barrier to travel in the future".

It is true that the AstraZeneca vaccine made in Australia has not been authorised for use in the European Union, but that is because there are no plans for CSL to manufacture shots there.

However, the Australian-made vaccine was listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for "Emergency Use" in July, which means it should be recognised by its member countries under the European Union's own guidelines.

"Entry into the EU for non-essential reasons should be allowed to people fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines authorised in the EU," a EU Commission spokesperson said.

"EU Member States could also allow entry for people vaccinated with vaccines having completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing process."

The EU Digital COVID certificate provides proof that a person is fully vaccinated and has returned a negative test, and will eventually allow quarantine-free travel through all 27 member countries.

However, the EU Commission said it was not a precondition to entry and that certificates issued by other countries could also be recognised.

The TGA said its officials are negotiating with their European counterparts to ensure vaccines made at the CSL facility are recognised.

Australia is developing its own "vaccine passport" but it is unclear whether it will be recognised internationally or whether travellers will need to obtain a certificate from individual nations, like they would a visa.

Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Posted , updated Fri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amShare

Proving 'robust' and safe, 'mix-and-match' COVID jabs could speed up vaccine rollouts [abc.net.au] 'Special rules' are likely on the way for vaccinated Aussies. Here's why they'd be legal [abc.net.au] Charting the jab: More than12 million doses delivered nationally [abc.net.au] Proving 'robust' and safe, 'mix-and-match' COVID jabs could speed up vaccine rollouts [abc.net.au] 'Special rules' are likely on the way for vaccinated Aussies. Here's why they'd be legal [abc.net.au] Charting the jab: More than12 million doses delivered nationally [abc.net.au] More on:

AstraZeneca has become a household name, but its COVID-19 vaccine will soon be rebranded to help smooth the pathway for millions of Australians hoping to travel overseas once the international border reopens.

Key points:

  • The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Australia will be renamed Vaxzevria to bring it into line with its overseas name
  • The rebrand has been approved in Europe and the company wants to ensure there is no potential confusion as internaitonal travel restarts
  • A technicality also means the Australian-made version is not approved in Europe, because Australian manufacturer CSL doesn't operate there

The vaccine was originally called COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca but has now been officially renamed "Vaxzevria" and approved by Europe's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency.

In Australia, the AstraZeneca vaccine being made by biotechnology company CSL is still going by its old name, causing some confusion and creating concern it could be seen as different to the same vaccine being made overseas.

To overcome any potential issues, AstraZeneca is in the process of registering the name Vaxzevria with Australia's regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

"Although it is not affecting travel to the EU … the TGA has already had initial discussions with the European Medicines Agency (and other overseas regulators) on regulatory approaches to vaccine recognition," the TGA said in a statement.

Federal Labor has been raising concerns about the potential issue and has written to the Foreign Minister and Health Minister urging them to ensure that once fully-vaccinated Australians can travel again, their vaccinations will actually be recognised.

"We understand that Australians fully vaccinated with the Australian-made AstraZeneca vaccine are currently unlikely to be recognised as being fully vaccinated when travelling to European Union countries by EU authorities," the Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler said in a statement.

"This is causing significant concern and distress in the community, as fully vaccinated Australians rightly expect their vaccination to be recognised by other countries when travelling internationally."

Technicality means Australian-made vaccines not authorised in Europe

Separately, high-level Australian officials are also lobbying their European counterparts to recognise the Melbourne-made AstraZeneca shot on vaccine certificates "so it does not become a barrier to travel in the future".

It is true that the AstraZeneca vaccine made in Australia has not been authorised for use in the European Union, but that is because there are no plans for CSL to manufacture shots there.

However, the Australian-made vaccine was listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for "Emergency Use" in July, which means it should be recognised by its member countries under the European Union's own guidelines.

"Entry into the EU for non-essential reasons should be allowed to people fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines authorised in the EU," a EU Commission spokesperson said.

"EU Member States could also allow entry for people vaccinated with vaccines having completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing process."

The EU Digital COVID certificate provides proof that a person is fully vaccinated and has returned a negative test, and will eventually allow quarantine-free travel through all 27 member countries.

However, the EU Commission said it was not a precondition to entry and that certificates issued by other countries could also be recognised.

The TGA said its officials are negotiating with their European counterparts to ensure vaccines made at the CSL facility are recognised.

Australia is developing its own "vaccine passport" but it is unclear whether it will be recognised internationally or whether travellers will need to obtain a certificate from individual nations, like they would a visa.

Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Loading form...Posted , updated Fri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amFri 6 Aug 2021 at 8:51amShare

Proving 'robust' and safe, 'mix-and-match' COVID jabs could speed up vaccine rollouts [abc.net.au] 'Special rules' are likely on the way for vaccinated Aussies. Here's why they'd be legal [abc.net.au] Charting the jab: More than12 million doses delivered nationally [abc.net.au] Proving 'robust' and safe, 'mix-and-match' COVID jabs could speed up vaccine rollouts [abc.net.au] 'Special rules' are likely on the way for vaccinated Aussies. Here's why they'd be legal [abc.net.au] Charting the jab: More than12 million doses delivered nationally [abc.net.au] More on:

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Original Submission