Washington (AFP)

The United States is banking on an authorization in April of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, more than three months after the green light from the British regulator on Wednesday, said Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor of the American vaccination program.

The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which has cleared its use in the UK, is "a very talented, science-based regulatory body and I am not raising any questions about its decision", he said at a press conference.

But the regulatory environment is different in the United States, he added, explaining that clinical trials and evaluations will not allow approval before "early April".

Moncef Slaoui notably underlined the need to prove its effectiveness on the elderly.

Developed by the AstraZeneca group with the University of Oxford, this vaccine will be used from January 4 in the United Kingdom.

It is eagerly awaited for practical reasons: much cheaper than that of Pfizer / BioNTech already distributed in the country, it can be stored at the temperature of a refrigerator, between two and eight degrees Celsius, which facilitates a large vaccination. ladder.

Moncef Slaoui also hoped that a vaccine developed by the American giant Johnson & Johnson would be approved in February in the United States.

It is also eagerly awaited, as it requires a single injection unlike those approved so far.

So far, two vaccines (Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna) are authorized in the United States and more than 2.1 million people have received a first injection.

This number is far from the stated target of the Trump administration, which had promised 20 million people vaccinated by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden lamented the "delay".

But General Gus Perna, of Operation Warp Speed ​​set up by the US government to ensure the vaccination campaign, said that 14 million doses had been distributed in the country and assured that "the local authorities were working hard -foot "to administer them.

The United States is the most affected country in the world with more than 19.5 million recorded cases and 339,000 deaths.

The situation could get even worse after the holiday season.

© 2020 AFP