Share
News

UK Becomes First Country To Approve COVID Vaccine for Emergency Use

Share

The United Kingdom authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use on Wednesday, becoming the first country to authorize a vaccine backed by promising clinical trial results.

The vaccine, developed in partnership with the German drug maker BioNTech, is set to be distributed across Britain next week, the government said in a news release.

The initial batch of approximately 800,000 doses will go to health care workers, nursing home residents and other elderly people, according to NBC News.

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

His message was echoed by Matt Hancock, Britain’s Health Secretary, who told the country that “help is on its way.”

Trending:
Prince Harry Named in Major Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Rapper

The announcement is likely to be followed by similar ones in the United States, as Pfizer and Moderna have both applied for emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Pfizer CEO Albert Broula applauded the U.K.’s decision in a news release on Wednesday, saying that “authorization is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win.”

Do you think the FDA will soon approve a COVID-19 vaccine?

Pfizer’s vaccine candidate was the first of three that proved to be at least 90 percent effective in clinical trials, preceding vaccines from Moderna and AstraZeneca.

COVID-19 has infected over 1.6 million people in the United Kingdom and killed nearly 60,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University database. Worldwide, the virus has infected over 64 million people and killed nearly 1.5 million.

Content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of their original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

A version of this article appeared on the Daily Caller News Foundation website.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , ,
Share
Founded by Tucker Carlson, a 25-year veteran of print and broadcast media, and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, The Daily Caller News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing original investigative reporting from a team of professional reporters that operates for the public benefit. Photo credit: @DailyCaller on Twitter




Conversation