[ad_1]
- The UK pharmaceutical regulatory authority has granted emergency approval for the corona vaccine from the German company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer.
- The government announced that the vaccine should be available in the country next week.
- It is the first worldwide approval for the BNT162b2 vaccine.
“Help is on the way,” wrote British Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Twitter.
In most of the world, a vaccine is not yet available for widespread use. China and Russia, among others, have long vaccinated certain population groups.
Biontech and Pfizer emphasized that their vaccine was approved based on data from a large clinical trial that involved tens of thousands of subjects.
The first deliveries should arrive in the UK in a few days, Biontech and Pfizer confirmed. Therefore, it has delivered a total of 40 million doses of vaccine with Great Britain by December and next year.
95 percent protection against Covid-19
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.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes the vaccines will boost the economy. “Protection through vaccines will finally allow us to get our lives back and get the economy going again,” he wrote on Twitter.
Keystone
Vaccination protection for people over 65 years of age exceeds 94 percent. These positive results are related to protection against Covid 19 disease. It is not yet clear to what extent the vaccine also protects against infection and possible transmission of the virus.
The EU wants to move forward
For the EU, the European Medicines Agency Ema wants to decide on an approval recommendation for the crown vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer in December.
The agency announced Tuesday that test results should be available no later than December 29. Germany and the EU have already signed a framework agreement for the purchase of up to 300 million doses of the vaccine.
Military helps vaccinate
The UK has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and many of the chronically underfunded hospitals have reached their capacity limits.
According to the Department of Health, nearly 60,000 people in the UK have already died from Covid-19. A large number of unreported cases are expected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is accused of reacting too late and inadequately to the crisis in the crown.
50 hospitals and vaccination centers are ready to start vaccination. The 40 million doses of vaccine can protect 20 million people; the drug must be administered twice. Britain has a population of almost 67 million. According to the Ministry of Health, the army is helping with logistics.
