Vaccine: UK 'ready' for rollout despite Brexit says MHRA's chief
Vaccine approval has paved the way to the end of the pandemic in the UK, as ministers have given the Pfizer jab its first track to public consumption. The country will now become the first western nation to receive rollout of a vaccine this year. Pfizer’s vaccine is one of the dozens of different examples currently in development – among them the UK’s own Oxford jab – which could provide the world’s best opportunity to quell the pandemic.
When will other coronavirus vaccines be approved in the UK?
So far, three Covid vaccination projects have reported resounding success in protecting recipients.
They include American advances with Pfizer, which developed its jab in tandem with German firm BioNTech, Moderna, and the UK’s local pursuit spearheaded by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Each of these vaccines has returned high efficacy from late-phase trials of more than 90 percent, but only one has received full approval in the UK.
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Speaking on December 2, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the approval followed “strict standards” set by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
They said: “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.
“This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
“The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week.”
Ministers have only approved rollout for the Pfizer vaccine so far, and the UK is the first to do so.
One of the reasons behind this move is due to country-specific approval processes, and the UK still uses EU rules.
MHRA officials used the bloc’s emergency vaccine approval rules to fast-track the local process, and other countries may want to take a more careful approach.
For example, top medical advisor in the US, Professor Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had yet to complete its analysis of the vaccine last week.
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News about future approval dates from the MHRA remains under wraps, but the Oxford vaccine should come next.
Matt Hancock said the Oxford-AstraZeneca could receive approval by Christmas.
He told the Sunday Telegraph: “It may come before Christmas, it may come early in the new year.”
MHRA chiefs have been less forthcoming about the process, and have declined to offer a concrete timescale.
Dr June Raine, chief executive of the agency, said the “intensive process is ongoing”.
She added work on approval is ongoing “continuously round the clock”.
The Oxford jab remains in the evaluation stages, with trials turning out different results depending on the dosage plan.
The progress towards approving the Moderna jab remains similarly unconfirmed.
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