UK approves COID-19 Vaccine
The United Kingdom became the first country Wednesday to formally approve the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
“This authorization is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a news release following the British decision.
The announcement sets the stage for the biggest vaccination campaign in British history and came just ahead of what experts are warning will be a long, dark winter, with the coronavirus surging to epic levels in the U.S. and Europe and putting pressure on hospitals and businesses. Follow Spotlife Asia for the latest news and updates.
The first inoculations are set to be rolled out next week, the government said, although the initial batch of 800,000 will cover a relatively small number of healthcare workers, care home staff and residents, and people over the age of 80.
The vaccine has been authorized far more quickly than any other in history, its lightning development outpacing the 15 to 20 years it usually takes to develop these types of medicines.
Officials cautioned that several tough months still lie ahead even in Britain, given the monumental scale of the operation needed to vaccinate large swaths of the population. Because of the limited initial supply, the first shots will be reserved for those most in danger, namely nursing home patients, the elderly and health care workers.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency recommended the vaccine after clinical trials involving tens of thousands of volunteers showed it was 95% effective and turned up no serious side effects. The vaccine is still considered experimental while final testing is done.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that the “searchlights of science” had picked out the “invisible enemy,” which has been blamed for close to 60,000 deaths in Britain. He said that in developing the vaccine, scientists had performed “biological jujitsu” by turning the virus on itself.
The vaccine by Pfizer, a U.S. pharmaceutical giant, and its German partner BioNTech is one of three front-runners that have delivered promising results in recent weeks.
