The United Kingdom Wednesday approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for general use ahead of its rollout in the coming week.
According to the UK Department of Health, it accepted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The UK will give priority to care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly, and the clinically extremely vulnerable.
“To aid the success of the vaccination programme it is vital everyone continues to play their part and abide by the necessary restrictions in their area so we can further suppress the virus and allow the NHS (National Health Service) to do its work without being overwhelmed,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News.
“From early next week, we will start the programme of vaccinating people against Covid-19 here in this country,” with 800,000 doses set to arrive next week.
Help is on its way.
The MHRA has formally authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19.
The NHS stands ready to start vaccinating early next week.
The UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically approved vaccine for supply.
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) December 2, 2020
