By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom on Wednesday became the first Western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for general use.
It announced a rollout of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines from next week in a major advance for humanity’s fightback against the coronavirus that started less than a year ago in Wuhan, China.
The UK’s independent medicines regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), gave its green light in double-quick time but insisted safety had come first.
Speaking on this, the agency’s chief executive, Ms June Raine, said, “Everybody can be confident that no corners whatsoever have been cut. The public deserves nothing less.”
She, however, stressed her agency’s certification process was no different from counterparts in the United States and the European Union.
British Prime Minister, Mr Boris Johnson, hailed the fantastic news, urging the public to remain cautious on the day that England exited a four-week lockdown and re-imposed regional curbs.
“It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again,” he said.
On his part, Health Secretary, Mr Matt Hancock, said that starting with care home residents and health and care staff, Britain’s state-run National Health Service will begin with 800,000 doses early next week.
He added that this will be ramped up to millions of inoculations by the end of the year.
The breakthrough will encourage hopes the world can finally get back on course in 2021 after a year of traumatic losses, both human and economic.
The novel coronavirus has killed nearly 1.5 million people since the outbreak emerged in China 12 months ago. At least 63 million cases have been registered.
Also reacting, Pfizer chief executive, Mr Albert Bourla said the UK certification was a “historic moment in the fight against COVID-19”.
“This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will 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 UK,” he said.
US giant Pfizer and German newcomer BioNTech added that they expected further regulatory decisions from other countries in the coming days and weeks.
The United States and Europe on Tuesday rolled out plans to administer COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they gain approval, with a US panel recommending that health care workers and nursing home residents be given top priority.
Other vaccines expected to come on stream soon include ones from Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford University, which has strong backing from the UK government.
Scientists also acclaimed the UK news but cautioned that logistical challenges remained. The Pfizer-BioNTech solution has to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit), requiring specialist freezers.
It requires two doses 21 days apart, and the MHRA said immunity kicks in a week after the second dose.
Campaigners and governments have stepped up calls to ensure poorer countries enjoy equal access to successful vaccines.
The AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate can be kept in regular refrigerators and is being offered at cost price, but is undergoing further data analysis after questions were raised over the effectiveness of its dosage regime.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have both shown effectiveness against the coronavirus of around 95 per cent.
Both are based on new (messenger ribonucleic acid) mRNA technology. The mRNA is used to deliver genetic material to the body that makes human cells create a protein from the virus. This trains the immune system to be ready to attack if it encounters the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The announcement came as England exited its month-long coronavirus lockdown, but most of the country remained under restrictions as a new regional system for cutting infection rates kicked in.
Russia was the first country to announce a successful vaccine candidate, dubbed Sputnik V, and has begun a mass coronavirus vaccination campaign for its military but the drug has not undergone Western clinical trials.
