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COVID-19 vaccine developed by UW approved for use in South Korea

The first approved use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Washington School of Medicine has been approved by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, according to a media release from the University of Washington.

South Korea has agreed to purchase 10 million doses for use in their country.

For use in people 18 years old and older, SKYCovione became the first approved vaccine from UW Medicine.

According to UW Medicine, SKYCovione is made of proteins that form tiny particles studded with fragments of the coronavirus.

UW Medicine developed a strategy for a new type of vaccine in 2016, and using computationally engineered proteins that can self-assemble, found they could be decorated with proteins from a virus.

Researchers set out to create a vaccine that was safe, effective at low doses, easy to manufacture and stable without deep freezing, allowing it to be accessible on a global scale.

The next step, according to UW Medicine, is to seek approval from the World Health Organization and expand usage to the United Kingdom and beyond.