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Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that they have obtained permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, the world’s first coronavirus vaccine backed by rigorous science and an important step towards ending the pandemic.
The move makes Britain one of the first countries to start vaccinating its population as it seeks to curb the deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in Europe.
Other countries are not far behind: The US and the European Union are also looking into the Pfizer shot along with a similar vaccine made by competitor Moderna Inc. British regulators are also considering another shot made by AstraZeneca and the University. of Oxford.
British media reported that hospitals in England have been told to prepare to start vaccinating health workers as early as next week.
Pfizer said it will immediately begin shipping limited supplies to the UK and is gearing up for even wider distribution if it received a similar nod from the US Food and Drug Administration, a decision expected as early as next week.
But doses everywhere are scarce and initial supplies will be rationed until more is produced early next year.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called the UK decision “a historic moment”.
“We are focusing on moving with the same level of urgency to safely deliver a high-quality vaccine around the world,” Bourla said in a statement.
Although the UK has ordered enough Pfizer vaccines for 20 million people, it is unclear how many will arrive by the end of the year. In addition to the distribution challenges, Pfizer vaccine must be stored in extremely cold temperatures. Two doses three weeks apart are needed for protection.
The UK government says frontline health workers and nursing home residents will be the first to get vaccinated, followed by the elderly.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned “we must first face a harsh winter” of restrictions to try and curb the virus until there is enough vaccine to go around.
Each country has different rules for determining when an experimental vaccine is safe and effective enough to use. Intense political pressure to be the first to launch a rigorously scientifically tested sprint has colored the breed in the United States and Britain, although researchers have pledged not to cut corners. Conversely, China and Russia offered different vaccinations to their citizens ahead of late stage testing.
Final tests still to be completed
The shots taken by US-based Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have been tested on tens of thousands of people. And although the study isn’t complete, early results suggest the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease.
The companies told regulators that of the first 170 infections detected in the study volunteers, only eight were among the people who had received the actual vaccine and the rest had received a sham injection.
“This is extraordinarily strong protection,” Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, recently told The Associated Press.
The companies also reported no serious side effects, although vaccinated individuals may experience temporary pain and flu-like reactions soon after the injections.
But experts warn that a vaccine authorized for emergency use is still experimental and the final test must be completed. Still to be determined is whether Pfizer-BioNTech shots protect against people who spread the coronavirus without showing symptoms. Another question is how long the protection lasts.
The vaccine has also been tested on only a small number of children, none under the age of 12, and there is no information on its effects in pregnant women.
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