UK first approves Pfizer vaccine

UK first approves Pfizer vaccine

Investing.com — United Kingdom — first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.

«The government today accepted a recommendation from the MHRA to approve Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine», — said a British government official (quoted by Reuters).

The vaccine will be available nationwide from December 7th. The authorities have already ordered 40 million doses of the drug. Since for the vaccine to be effective, patients need to be given two injections, the drug is enough for 20 million people, The Guardian notes..

Brits with increased risk of infection will be the first to receive vaccine — first residents and nursing home staff, then other citizens over 80, and then health care workers. Mass vaccination for people over 50, as well as young citizens with chronic diseases, will become possible with the receipt of more doses of the drug in 2021.

Pfizer and BioNTech also filed applications for their vaccine with the US Food and Drug Administration on November 20 and November 30 — to the European Medicines Agency. If the approval of the American regulator is received, the use of the drug in Europe could begin as early as December. The cost of a single dose of vaccine for EU countries will be 15.5 ($ 18.34) euros, Reuters previously reported..

According to the test results, Pfizer and BioNTech estimated the effectiveness of their vaccine at 95%. Of the 170 volunteers who tested the drug and contracted the coronavirus, 162 received a placebo, and only 8 were vaccinated with the candidate vaccine.

Company «Immunotechnology», owned by «daughter» «Sberbank», can become a single supplier of vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19 in public procurement, wrote on Wednesday, December 2, the newspaper «Vedomosti». The Ministry of Health has already developed a draft government decree on endowing «Immunotechnology» the status of a single supplier. With it, the company will be able to earn 7.5 billion rubles. arrived, the publication found out.

The text was prepared by Yana Shebalina

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