The UK has become the first country to authorize the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID vaccine for emergency distribution. Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency declared that the vaccine was safe to use after analyzing its trials and outcomes. This represents the first clearance of a vaccine by a Western government. The UK used data from clinical trials consistently updated to make their decisions.
The UK has also been monitoring the results of early trials as they progressed. Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a public hearing in December to discuss the vaccine and the possibility of authorizing it. The EU is also planning on holding a public hearing in the coming weeks to discuss the vaccine. Pfizer has already begun to ship shots to distribution sites in preparation of its approval.
Read More: Pfizer, BioNTech’s Covid-19 Vaccine Authorized in the U.K.: What You Need to Know
