AstraZeneca : says could begin COVID-19 vaccine production early in 2021

Production of a COVID-19 vaccine under an agreement between the Mexican and Argentine governments and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca could begin in the first quarter of 2021, an AstraZeneca executive said on Thursday.

Sylvia Varela, head of AstraZeneca Mexico, said at the Mexican president's daily news conference that Phase III trials were expected to conclude by November or December.

(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Dave Graham)