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THE UK HAS formally approved a vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Germany’s BioNTech and US giant Pfizer, becoming the first country to do so.
The vaccine has been authorised by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) for emergency use.
The Guardian reports that the UK has bought 40 million doses of the vaccine, with a statement form the company saying that the first doses will arrive in the UK in coming days.
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use,” the UK’s department of health said in a statement.
“The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week,” the statement said, with priority groups including care home residents, health and care staff.
After months of “rigorous” clinical trials and thorough analysis of the data, the MHRA “concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness”.
Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla said it was a “historic moment in the fight against Covid-19″.
“This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK,” he said.
Pfizer and BioNTech added that they expected further regulatory decisions from other countries “in the coming days and weeks”.
The announcement came as England exited a month-longlockdown, but most of the country remained under restrictions as a new regional system for cutting infection rates kicked in.
The four-week lockdown, which began in November, was imposed to stop surging rates of infection, ease pressure on health services, and to allow families to gather for Christmas.
Yesterday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it would hold an extraordinary meeting on 29 December “at the latest” to consider emergency approval for the vaccine.
However, UK regulators do not have to wait for the EMA’s approval because of Brexit.
Large-scale trial data released last month showed that the vaccine was safe and around 95 percent effective against Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said that once the EMA gave regulatory permission, formal authorisation from Brussels would follow “very quickly” – probably “in a matter of days”.
The companies previously said that the vaccine could potentially be rolled out “in Europe before the end of 2020″ if it is approved.
“We have known since the beginning of this journey that patients are waiting, and we stand ready to ship Covid-19 vaccine doses as soon as potential authorisations will allow us,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.
The vaccine is based on new technology, using mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) to deliver genetic material to the body and make human cells create a protein from the virus.
This trains the immune system to be ready to attack if it encounters SARS-CoV-2.
BioNTech/Pfizer have also applied for emergency use authorisation in the United States, where Americans are expected to start getting vaccinated around mid-December.
The companies said they had asked the EMA for “conditional market approval” of their vaccine on Monday, after filing a request for emergency authorisation in the US on 20 November.
Contains reporting from © AFP 2020.
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Isn’t a well known public figure who abused for years getting their sentence reduced down to 2 years for “good character and behaviour” (insert Judge feel good lingo here)
It needs to be said, we do not punish abusers in Ireland, there is no deterrence. It needs to change.
Also a conversation on consent needs to be amped up further in schools. Things need to change.
@TheFreeSpeechParty: well said. Rape should mean a life sentence.
@TheFreeSpeechParty: I agree , well said. Respect and consent , and relationships in general should be discussed in schools
@James Wormold: Chemical castration would be a more economic and effective option.
@Carla Killeen: raping women would be anathema to the vast majority of men with a high sex drive. Rape is about much more than male hormones and sex, it’s about control and violating another person. Chemical castration might reduce recidivism rates but there is no evidence to suggest it acts as a deterrent in the first place. Teaching children about respect, body autonomy and consent from a young age might prevent some from ever thinking it’s okay to violate another person.
You won’t see Leo tackling this problem, you won’t see any kind of judicial reform regards to sentences. I am convinced the judges always try to side with the perpetrator, if you have a good character, if you plead guilty, if you have a job. Anything at all that can be used to reduce a sentence the judge will try his best, oh he was cooperative, that’s another few months off. Then of course in the case of a rape, the judge doesn’t sentence for each crime committed within the rape, the violence, the threats etc it is all bundled into one and the mandatory suspension part of the sentence.
And yet in the other news report today we have people insisting abortion services are a “lifestyle choice” and not required in Ireland.
The perpetrators get full benefit of certain circumstances while the victim gets violated over and over .. Throw away the keys .
In a society where the media and entertainment industry place heavy emphasis on sexual consumption and instant gratification as elements of the Good Life, it is not surprising that predatory men see women and girls as objects of their desires.
@Garreth Byrne: so rape didn’t exist before TV?
@EillieEs: Rape is as old as the hills. The sex saturation of the media and mass entertainment tends to emphasise eros rather than conjugal love as a key element of the Good Life. Women’s bodies are graphically projected more than their minds and personal qualities. As sex objects they are targeted for male gratification.
If you use a gun as a weapon it’s taken from you…….chemical castration
@John O Reilly: Agreed, it would be the best deterrent.
@John O Reilly: how to stop that person ever using it as a weapon in the first place?
@EillieEs: nothing….some people are animals
How can you be a good person if you rape someone should get life imprisonment
@Margaret Kane: This question needs to be asked, this is a really good question that should be put to judges.
If 34.3% of the enquiries to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre are from other parts of the country is this a funding issue?
It’s not really a great place at all, especially if the privileged have hurt you. Pigs and sheep, people, pigs and sheep.
have your say