UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

The U.K. on Wednesday authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, making it the first coronavirus shot to be backed by rigorous science.

The vaccine will now be rolled out in the country next week, with older people in care homes and medical workers first in line. The U.K. government is the first in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech shot for widespread use formally, and it makes Britain one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population.

“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use,” the government said Wednesday. “The vaccine will be made available across the U.K. from next week.”

Pfizer’s Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, said the authorization was a “historic moment.”

“This authorization is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science would 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 U.K.,” he said.

“With thousands of people becoming infected, every day matters in the collective race to end this devastating pandemic.”

In July, Pfizer and BioNTech announced an agreement with the U.K. to supply 30 million doses of its mRNA-based vaccine, formally known as “BNT162b2,” once authorized for emergency use. That agreement was increased to 40 million doses in early October. As a two-dose vaccine, the U.K. will have enough doses to vaccinate around a third of its 66 million population.

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