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The UK became the first country in the world to approve large-scale use of Pfizer / BioNTech’s new corona vaccine.
The UK regulatory agency Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the vaccine can provide up to 95% protection and can be safely marketed next week.
High-risk groups can begin vaccination within days, such as the elderly in nursing homes. The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, which can provide 20 million people with two doses per person. Around 10 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be available shortly and the first 800,000 doses will arrive in the UK in the next few days.
Around 50 hospitals in the UK have prepared the injections, and some vaccination sites such as convention centers are also ready.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC: “I am now confident that from spring, from Easter, everything will be fine. Everyone will start celebrating next summer.”
This is the fastest vaccine ever developed It took only 10 months from concept to market approval, completing the development stages that usually take ten years to complete.
Experts say that although vaccination can be initiated, people still need to be vigilant and follow principles of social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. This means continuing to keep social distances, wearing masks, testing people who may be infected with the virus, and asking them to isolate themselves.
Principle of the Pfizer vaccine
Pfizer vaccine is a vaccine against ribonucleic acid, a brand new vaccine that has never been injected into humans before.
Scientists extract part of the protein encoded by ribonucleic acid inside the virus, add lipids and introduce it into human cells; the vaccine is imported into human cells to express the novel coronavirus spike protein gene; the human immune system then produces antibodies and activates T cells to destroy infected cells.
The vaccine must be stored in an environment of minus 70 ° C, packed in dry ice and transported in a special box. Once delivered, the vaccine can be stored in the freezer for 5 days.
Who gets vaccinated first?
Experts developed a list of temporary priority vaccinations with the aim of protecting high-risk groups. These are seniors living in nursing homes and their nursing staff, followed by seniors over 80 and other health and social workers.
They will receive the first batch of vaccines, some of which will arrive before Christmas. With the advent of 2021, more vaccines will be available and mass vaccinations will be available for people over 50 and young people with underlying diseases.
Everyone needs two injections, 21 days apart, and the second dose is a booster.
Initial data shows that the new corona vaccine developed by Pfizer and the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has an effective rate of 90%.
How are the other vaccines progressing?
There are other vaccines that may soon be approved for use.
A Moderna vaccine uses the same mRNA method as Pfizer’s vaccine and also provides similar protection rates. The UK has pre-ordered 7 million doses of Moderna vaccine, which could be ready in the spring.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the new corona vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. The vaccine uses a harmless virus that has been modified to become a virus similar to the new coronavirus.
Russia has developed another vaccine called “Sputnik-V” (Sputnik-V), and the Chinese military has also approved the use of a vaccine made by China’s Kansino Biotech. Both work in a similar way to the Oxford vaccines.
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