Britain has become the first country in the world which will begin vaccinating people against COVID-19. This after the government on Wednesday approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use. The roll out of the vaccine is likely to begin next week. Britain's vaccine committee will decide how to prioritise the vaccine distribution.
"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 government said in a statement. "The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week."
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the programme would begin early next week and added that hospitals were already ready to receive it.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and US biotech firm Moderna have reported a preliminary 90% efficacy of their vaccines in trials.