UK braced to be first country to clear Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine

The United Nations is all set to be the first country to approve Pfizer Inc. and BioTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, among almost 172 countries engaged in developing the vaccine.

A Bloomberg report said clearance for the Pfizer vaccine may come as early as next week.

The company earlier announced that the shot was 95 per cent effective in clinical trials on 44,000 people.

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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said it is equipped with data to assess whether the Pfizer vaccine meets required standards and would “make a decision in the shortest time possible, without compromising the thoroughness of our review.”

Reports say with the first injections (consisting of two doses) may be administered on December 7, the UK has ordered enough doses to immunize 20 million people.

The company will also supply shots to Europe, the US and Japan among others.

The Bloomberg report said, the vaccine was put in a standby for a possible rollout before Christmas.

Even though China and Russia have cleared the vaccines for general use, the same may not be adopted in the US and Europe, the report said.

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The Pfizer vaccine became the frontrunner after trials of AstraZeneca and Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine were delayed.

With Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate showing effectiveness in late-stage trials, the UK Press Association on Saturday announced that the government has bought 2 million doses of the vaccine, taking its total vaccine count to 7 million shots.