The island kingdom of Bahrain has become the second nation in the world to grant an emergency-use authorisation for the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
The state-run Bahrain News Agency made the announcement on Friday night, following an earlier announcement by the UK on Wednesday, which made Britain the first in the world.
"The confirmation of approval by the National Health Regulatory Authority of the kingdom of Bahrain followed thorough analysis and review undertaken by the authority of all available data," the kingdom said on its state-run Bahrain News Agency.
Bahrain did not say how may vaccines it has purchased, nor when vaccinations would begin. It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press, nor did Pfizer.
The immediate challenge for Bahrain would be the conditions in which the vaccine must be kept.
They must be stored and shipped at ultra-cold temperatures of around minus 70 degrees Celsius.
Bahrain is a Middle East nation that regularly sees temperatures in the summer of around 40C, with high humidity.
Bahrain does have a state-owned carrier, Gulf Air, that it could use to transport the vaccines.
In the nearby United Arab Emirates, the Dubai-based long-haul carrier Emirates has already said it is preparing its facilities to distribute vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures.
Bahrain had already granted emergency-use authorisation for a Chinese vaccine made by Sinopharm.
That vaccine, an "inactivated" shot made by growing the whole virus in a lab and then killing it, also is in use in the UAE.
Mariam Al Jalahma, chief executive of Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority said the Pfizer vaccine would add another level of protection for citizens.
"The approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will add a further important layer to the kingdom's national COVID-19 response, which has strongly prioritised protecting the health of all citizens and residents during the pandemic," she said.
Bahrain is a small island off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.
With a population of 1.6 million, it has reported more than 87,000 cases and 341 deaths, according to the government.
Over 85,000 people have recovered from the COVID-19 illness that is caused by the virus.
Australian Associated Press
