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The UK became the first country to grant emergency approval for the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer. The British should get vaccinated starting next week.
Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that vaccines should start next week: Britain was the first country to approve the corona vaccine from Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer. “The vaccine will be available throughout the UK from next week. This is very good news.” The UK Medicines Agency has approved an emergency approval, Hancock said. Delivery must begin immediately.
This will give the British the green light for a vaccine before the EU and the US It is also the first approval for BNT162b2 worldwide. Biontech and Pfizer called the approval “a revolutionary scientific milestone.”
Vaccine for 20 million people
Britain has ordered enough doses of the vaccine to vaccinate 20 million people. However, it is unclear how many cans will arrive before the end of the year. When it comes to delivery and distribution, there is also the challenge of cooling: the product must be stored at extremely low temperatures. According to Pfizer and Biontech, protection against vaccination takes two doses three weeks apart.
“Exciting news”
The vaccination committee will decide which people should get vaccinated first, Health Minister Hancock said. In all likelihood, they will be residents of nursing homes and for the elderly, as well as employees of the health sector. “There is always interesting news, but really significant,” said Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London. Just eleven months after the virus was discovered, there is now an effective means of fighting it. “It’s really heroic.”
For the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine, an extensive series of tests showed effectiveness offering 95 percent protection against Covid-19 disease, according to the company. The vaccine worked equally well in all age groups and other demographic differences and showed virtually no serious side effects, the companies said after the final analysis. In early November, Biontech and Pfizer were the first companies in the world to announce positive results of the relevant study for approval with a corona vaccine.
British authorities are also examining a vaccine that was developed by the Astrazeneca group and the University of Oxford. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned his compatriots that they will have to go through a “harsh winter” with restrictions before enough vaccines are available for everyone.
EMA also wants to make a decision in December
The European Medicines Agency EMA also wants to decide on a recommendation for approval of the crown vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer in December. The agency announced Tuesday that the test results should be available by December 29. By January 12, the EMA also wants to decide on the Covid-19 vaccine from the American biotech group Moderna, which has also submitted a request for conditional market approval to the authorities.
