UK Authorizes First Covid-19 Vaccine, Will Begin Distribution Next Week

The United Kingdom has become the first western nation to approve a coronavirus vaccine. In their official statement, the country’s health department said the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine “follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts…who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.” The UK has now ordered 40 million doses, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, that they hope to start rolling out as early as next week. Their distribution plan states those at the top of the priority list include elderly people in care homes, along with health care workers and other vulnerable people. Following a meeting by the CDC yesterday, they have also concluded that those same populations will be the first to receive the vaccine in the U.S. They hope to have some 40 million doses available by the end of December. Currently there are two vaccines seeking FDA emergency use in the states. They will be voted on December 10th and 17th.