Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine candidate Wednesday, with the government announcing the shot will be rolled out across the country beginning next week.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said it had accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for the vaccine to be used.
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The government said priority groups will receive the vaccine first, including care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable. Guidance on how the vaccine will be distributed is being promised in the coming days.
Hospitals in England have been told they could receive the first doses of the Pfizer shot during the week of Dec. 7 if it receives the OK, the Guardian and Financial Times reported this week.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s scientific advisers are holding a public meeting Dec. 10 to review Pfizer’s request to allow emergency use of its vaccine, and a decision could come shortly thereafter.
Canadian health officials have said Health Canada is also reviewing the vaccine and may quickly follow in the FDA’s footsteps if that agency gives the green light.
More to come…
–With files from the Associated Press