AstraZeneca wishes to clarify the situation as it relates to recognition for travel to Europe of vaccinations conducted in Australia with its COVID-19 vaccine.
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is the same product wherever it is made, including at CSL. All manufacturing around the world is conducted using the same stringent manufacturing process and each batch passes over 60 quality tests as part of our global robust quality assurance process. The vaccine has also received emergency authorisation from the World Health Organisation. As such the vaccine made by CSL is a valid vaccination for travel to Europe.
The vaccine was originally known as COVID -19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and subsequently updated to the brand name Vaxzevria. In Europe, the brand name Vaxzevria (previously known as COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) is already approved by the European Medicines Agency. In Australia the original name is still used and AstraZeneca is in the process of registering the brand name Vaxzevria. This minor difference, which will soon disappear, may have created misperceptions that the vaccine is not the same.
For vaccines produced in our global supply chain that are using the original name COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, we are currently in the process of registering the trade name Vaxzevria, which is used in many other markets including the EU. This will facilitate travel for people who have received AstraZeneca's vaccine from anywhere in the world.
In less than 12 months, more than 750 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been released for supply to 170 countries, and our vaccine continues to be an important tool in overcoming the global pandemic.
AU-11251; prepared July 2021
