London: The United Kingdom (UK) became Wednesday the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. The United Kingdom thus paved the way for mass vaccinations against the deadly novel coronavirus.
British regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cleared the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It said the jab, which claims to offer up to 95 per cent protection against COVID-19 illness, is safe for roll out.
The joint vaccine is produced by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech. They had recently claimed trials suggested it works well in people of all ages, races and ethnicities.
The UK government had asked the MHRA to look into the data. Then it could clear it for use if it meets ‘robust’ standards of quality, safety, and effectiveness.
The UK is expected to receive a total of 40 million doses by the end of 2021. It will be enough to vaccinate up to a third of the population, with the majority of doses anticipated in the first half of next year.
Also read: Pfizer, BioNTech seek emergency use of COVID-19 shots in US
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted ‘Help is on its way’. He told the BBC that people will be contacted by the NHS when it is their turn for the jab.
“I’m confident now with the news today that from spring, from Easter onwards, things are going to be better. We’re going to have a summer next year that everybody can enjoy,” he said.
National Health Service (NHS) Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, said the health service was preparing for ‘the largest-scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history’. Around 50 hospitals are on standby and vaccination centres in venues such as conference centres are being set up now.
The UK government stressed that the COVID-19 vaccine will only be authorised for supply by the country’s independent regulator. This will happen only if the vaccine it meets strict standards of quality, safety, and effectiveness. Also the regulator will have to satisfied the vaccine can be consistently manufactured.
The vaccine will be manufactured in BioNTech’s German sites, as well as Pfizer’s manufacturing site in Belgium.
The UK government said it remains confident that the cold supply chain needed to distribute the vaccine will not cause any problems or delays. When the vaccine is stored in a fridge, it has an effective life of up to five days at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees. This means it can be easily stored at distribution centres.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the fastest ever vaccine to go from concept to reality. It has taken only 10 months to follow the same developmental steps that normally span a decade, the ‘BBC’ reported.
Prof Danny Altman, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, said news of the approval was ‘momentous’. “We have the first emergency approval for use of a really effective vaccine. Truly heroic,” he said.
Globally more than 63,894,000 people have been affected by the deadly virus and over 14,80,000 deaths have been reported. The UK has reported more than 16,47,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 59,000 deaths.