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The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), paving the way for mass vaccination.
Officials said that the vaccine, which the UK today became the first in the world to approve, will be made available from next week.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.”
The jab has been shown in studies to be 95 percent effective and works in all age groups. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people.
At a Downing Street briefing this morning, Dr June Raine, head of the MHRA regulator, insisted that “no corners had been cut” and that the vaccine “meets the strictest requirements of safety, of effectiveness, and of quality”.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said those who are most at risk of death from Covid-19 and healthcare workers would receive the vaccine first.
However, he clarified that prioritisation “is not dependent on what tier someone is in”, as England’s three-tier system takes effect from today following the end of the second national lockdown.
The Armed Forces and NHS have already begun urgent preparations for the distribution of a vaccine, The Telegraph understands, while sources said that around 10 sites will be transformed into vaccine hubs within a fortnight.
Meanwhile, shops, gyms and pubs have reopened as England’s new tier system came into effect, with retailers preparing for what has been called ‘Wild Wednesday’.
As the national lockdown came to an end, shoppers were seen queuing outside stores in Oxford Street and Birmingham from as early as 5am in a bid to do some Christmas shopping.
Fitness fans also headed for the gym at midnight while others had haircuts at 1am as England got its first taste of freedom since early November, in what has become known online as ‘Wild Wednesday’.
England’s new tier system came into effect at midnight on Tuesday, with 99 percent of the nation entering the toughest Tier 2 and 3 restrictions.
People in the tougher tiers are banned from all indoor socialising with other households apart from over the Christmas period, but are now able to visit shops and pubs as long as they serve a “substantial meal”.
The head of the regulator that approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine said that “no corners had been cut” in assessing it’s safety.
The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the vaccine, which will be made available “from next week”.
But Dr June Raine, head of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said that while a rolling regulatory process had been conducted as the vaccine was developed, standards had always been maintained.
She told a Downing Street press conference: “That doesn’t mean that any corners have been cut, none at all.”
More than 1 000 pages of data had been examined, she said. telegraph
The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), paving the way for mass vaccination.
Officials said that the vaccine, which the UK today became the first in the world to approve, will be made available from next week.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.”
The jab has been shown in studies to be 95 percent effective and works in all age groups. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people.
At a Downing Street briefing this morning, Dr June Raine, head of the MHRA regulator, insisted that “no corners had been cut” and that the vaccine “meets the strictest requirements of safety, of effectiveness, and of quality”.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said those who are most at risk of death from Covid-19 and healthcare workers would receive the vaccine first.
However, he clarified that prioritisation “is not dependent on what tier someone is in”, as England’s three-tier system takes effect from today following the end of the second national lockdown.
The Armed Forces and NHS have already begun urgent preparations for the distribution of a vaccine, The Telegraph understands, while sources said that around 10 sites will be transformed into vaccine hubs within a fortnight.
Meanwhile, shops, gyms and pubs have reopened as England’s new tier system came into effect, with retailers preparing for what has been called ‘Wild Wednesday’.
As the national lockdown came to an end, shoppers were seen queuing outside stores in Oxford Street and Birmingham from as early as 5am in a bid to do some Christmas shopping.
Fitness fans also headed for the gym at midnight while others had haircuts at 1am as England got its first taste of freedom since early November, in what has become known online as ‘Wild Wednesday’.
England’s new tier system came into effect at midnight on Tuesday, with 99 percent of the nation entering the toughest Tier 2 and 3 restrictions.
People in the tougher tiers are banned from all indoor socialising with other households apart from over the Christmas period, but are now able to visit shops and pubs as long as they serve a “substantial meal”.
The head of the regulator that approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine said that “no corners had been cut” in assessing it’s safety.
The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the vaccine, which will be made available “from next week”.
But Dr June Raine, head of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said that while a rolling regulatory process had been conducted as the vaccine was developed, standards had always been maintained.
She told a Downing Street press conference: “That doesn’t mean that any corners have been cut, none at all.”
More than 1 000 pages of data had been examined, she said. Telegraph
