Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use and said that it will be rolled out from next week.
The UK government said “The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use. The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week." Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the programme would begin early next week. "It is very good news," Hancock said.
The U.K. had long signalled it would move fast on any promising vaccine candidate, and British doctors have been put on standby for a possible rollout before Christmas. Russia and China have cleared vaccines for general use, but they’re unlikely to be adopted in the U.S. and Europe.
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