File: An ad for COVID-19 testing reflects on glass at a bus stop, as pedestrians walk past Pfizer world headquarters in New York.
Hours after United Kingdom approved Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, UK's country medicine regulator MHRA chief Dr June Raine spoke about the safety of the vaccine amid other concerns. She said this (Pfizer) vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) has only been approved because those strict tests have been done and complied with. Everyone can be absolutely confident that no corners whatsoever have been cut. Earlier in the day, UK authorised Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, to be made available across the country from next week.
Throwing some light on the roll-out plan, residents in care homes for older adults and care home workers will be the highest priority, said Prof Wei Shen Lim, Chair of UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the administration of COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of UK's Commission on Human Medicine Expert Working Group has said data show that this vaccine was 95 per cent effective. The safety of the vaccine is similar to other vaccines. Most of the side effects are very mild and usually last for a day or so.
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Pfizer vaccine for coronavirus | Key takeaways
- Britain has approved the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from next week in the country.
- The approval came after the country's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness after months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data.
- "It's the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again," Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted after the approval of the vaccine.
- The first 800,000 doses will be available in the country from next week, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, according to a report in BBC.
- Care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable will receive the vaccine on priority basis.
- "The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) will shortly publish its final advice for the priority groups to receive the vaccine," a UK Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said in a statement.
- Drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech previously signed an agreement to supply a total of 40 million doses of their COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) to the UK with delivery in 2020 and 2021.
- The approval from the UK constitutes the first emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine following a worldwide Phase 3 trial which demonstrated a vaccine efficacy rate of 95 per cent.
- In a separate statement, Pfizer and BioNTech said they are anticipating further regulatory decisions across the globe in the coming days and weeks and are ready to deliver vaccine doses following potential regulatory authorisations or approvals.
- "Today's Emergency Use Authorisation in the UK marks a historic moment in the fight against COVID-19. This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK," said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer.
- The companies have already filed a request for emergency use authorisation with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Based on current projections, Pfizer's and BioNTech's combined manufacturing network has the potential to supply globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021 -- subject to manufacturing capacity and regulatory approval or authorisation.
- Pfizer said it has an established infrastructure to supply the vaccine worldwide, including distribution hubs that can store vaccine doses for up to six months, although the company does not expect that the product will need to be stored at any location for more than 30 days due to the high demand.
(With inputs from IANS)
