First COVID-19 vaccine approved for use

The first COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.

Britain’s medicines regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which offers up to 95 per cent protection against the disease.

A mass vaccination programme is expected to start within the days.

The first 800,000 doses are expected to be available in the UK from next week.

MHRA chief cxecutive, Dr June Raine said: “We have carried out a rigorous scientific assessment of all the available evidence of quality, safety and effectiveness. The public’s safety has always been at the forefront of our minds — safety is our watchword.

“I’m really pleased to say that the UK is now one step closer to providing a safe and effective vaccine to help in the fight against COVID-19 — a virus that has affected each and every one of us in some way — and in helping to save lives.

“We are globally recognised for requiring high standards of safety, quality and effectiveness for any vaccine. Our expert scientists and clinicians worked tirelessly, around the clock, carefully, scientifically, robustly and rigorously poring over hundreds of pages and tables of data, methodically reviewing the data.

“Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. They save millions of lives worldwide.”

A “rolling review” of the vaccine — used to complete the assessment of a promising medicine or vaccine during a public health emergency in the shortest time possible — was started in October.

This is done as the packages of data become available from ongoing studies on a staggered basis.

Data from the laboratory pre-clinical studies, clinical trials, manufacturing and quality controls, product sampling and testing of the final vaccine, and the conditions for its safe supply and distribution, has been under assessment.

Independent laboratory testing will also continue to take place to ensure every batch of the vaccine meets safety and quality standards.

The UK Government has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine — enough to vaccinate 20 million people — with two jabs required for an individual to become fully vaccinated.

However, the vaccine has to be stored at -70 degrees celsius — meaning there are logistical complexities in rolling out the vaccine on a mass scale.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed this morning’s news, describing it as “the best news in a long time”.

She tweeted that the Scottish Government was ready to start its vaccination programme as soon as doses arrive.