WHO sees limited rollout of Pfizer vaccine by end-Jan

GENEVA/ZURICH, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The World Health
Organization expects to give emergency use approval for the
COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German
partner BioNTech this month, with a limited roll-out
starting by late January, officials said on Monday.

WHO assistant director general Mariangela Simao said in a
briefing the global health body could decide on Pfizer's vaccine
candidate by the end of the year.

A roll-out in a limited number of countries will take place
by end-January or early February as part of the COVAX programme,
led by the WHO to provide shots for poor- and middle-income
countries, Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, said.

The comments came as Europe's drug watchdog gave the green
light for the use of the shot, taking the region a step closer
to mass inoculation of the 450 million population as the United
States and Britain roll out the vaccine.

(Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Michael Shields in
Zurich;
Writing by Josephine Mason; editing by David Evans)