South Korea's Food and Drug Safety Ministry said on Monday that it has begun reviewing the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for authorization.

The review came after 21 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., approved the vaccine’s emergency use against the novel coronavirus. The European Union and four other countries including Switzerland approved it on the condition the developers provide additional documents for review. 

Early this month, the South Korean ministry began reviewing the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca. 

As with AstraZeneca’s products, the ministry plans to complete the evaluation on Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within 40 days. Normally, the government would conduct a 180-day review, but it's trying to accelerate the country's vaccination program slated to begin next month.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be administered to those aged 16 and older and is administered in two shots with a recommended interval of three weeks. It needs to be stored at minus 90 to minus 60 degrees Celsius and for up to six months.