The U.K. government on Wednesday approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines developed by British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, becoming the first country in the world to do so.

The U.K. Department of Health and Social Care made the decision after accepting a recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), according to foreign media reports. 

The U.K. agency said AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine met "strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.” 

The announcement came weeks after the British government approved vaccines co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech also for the first time in the world. 

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock  reportedly said the U.K. government plans to distribute AstraZeneca vaccines as soon as possible once they are rolled out. 

South Korea also signed a deal to purchase AstraZeneca vaccines for 10 million people.