BREAKING NEWS: UK becomes first country to authorise Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
The UK has become the first country to approve the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Matt Hancock announced on Wednesday that the UK’s medicines regulatory agency has authorised the coronavirus vaccine.
The news comes as three candidate vaccines have announced promising results from phase three trials.
Hancock said the NHS would be ready to start vaccinating early next week.
Absolutely superb news. Wonderful. Thanks to all the researchers and indeed everyone involved in the testing and approval process who’ve moved so quickly and efficiently to get this first vaccine ready for use. Finally, light at the end of the tunnel. https://t.co/JZUg091HkJ
— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) December 2, 2020
The two companies announced this month that the vaccine is 95% effective and in particular, is 94% effective in people over the age of 65 who are more at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
The vaccine was “well-tolerated” by the 43,000 participants enrolled in phase three trials, the company said earlier in the month.
The mRNA vaccine is based on new technology that contains genetic instructions that help the body to recognise the coronavirus’ spike protein, which is used to enter the body’s cells.
But it’s likely to be available in limited supply for targeted populations because not all countries will be able to distribute the vaccine as it needs to be stored at ultracold temperatures.
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