The United Kingdom was the first country to approve Pfizer / BioNTech’s corona vaccine for emergency use on Wednesday. The vaccine should be available from next week.
The government has taken over the recommendation of the drug authorities on the use of the vaccine in question. This makes the United Kingdom the first Western country to approve a corona vaccine.
The British have ordered 40 million doses. The first doses will be delivered in the next few days. British Health Minister Matt Hancock says the vaccination program will start early next week. The first doses go to the most vulnerable in society. A large part will be vaccinated next year.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer calls the approval a historic moment in the fight against the corona virus. According to the latest shared research results, the vaccine has an effectiveness of 95 percent and is successful in 94 percent of all cases in people over 65.
The drug authorities in the United Kingdom are also currently looking into the corona vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. A few days ago, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the hope that both vaccines will be approved before the holidays.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is still evaluating the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. The EMA says that if the application goes well, it will review whether Pfizer’s vaccine can be approved by December 29. Moderna’s vaccine may be approved by Jan. 12.
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