The United Kingdom has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for widespread use. Vaccination will begin as early as next week, with the elderly and residents of closed institutions being the first to receive the vaccine.
The United Kingdom ordered the first batch of 40 million doses for 20 million people. According to the UK’s MHRA, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has demonstrated up to 95% efficacy. This is a record-breaking vaccine that went from conception to widespread use in just 10 months.
“Help is already on the way,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning. “I am absolutely sure that with such a development of events in the spring, starting from Easter and beyond, life will begin to improve, and next summer we will all be able to spend it to our pleasure,” he said in an interview with the BBC.
Sir Simon Stevens, head of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), says his colleagues are preparing for the biggest vaccination campaign in the country’s history. About 50 hospitals across the country are fully prepared to begin this labor-intensive process. The conversion of facilities such as conference halls and business centers into temporary vaccination sites is also nearing completion.
At the same time, doctors emphasize that compliance with existing quarantine measures will be particularly important as hundreds of thousands of elderly people will soon be appearing on the streets and in public places. The appearance of a vaccine should not give the population the illusion that the danger has completely passed, experts say. The rules of social distancing, mandatory wearing of masks in public places, and the need to isolate oneself when symptoms of illness appear remain in effect.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is a joint development of two pharmaceutical giants: the American company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech. This belongs to the category of novel mRNA vaccines and contains a fragment of the genetic code of the virus that caused the global pandemic. Clinical trials have shown that it is equally well tolerated by people of different ages and ethnic backgrounds.
Each person received two injections three weeks apart. The vaccine caused no serious side effects in any of the volunteers, but about 2% experienced headaches and fatigue. The 95% efficacy is explained by the fact that, according to the developers, 170 participants in the clinical trials were infected with the coronavirus, but only eight of them received the vaccine. The remaining infected participants received a placebo. In the vast majority of cases, immunity to the coronavirus occurs on the 7th day after the second dose. In rare cases, with strong natural immunity, it occurs on the 12th day after the first dose.
Mass production of the vaccine will take place in Belgium. It requires a temperature of -70°C for storage and transport. Special boxes containing dry ice briquettes will be used for transport. Once delivered, the vials can be stored in a refrigerator for up to five days.
We explain quickly, simply, and understandably what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. The number of episodes should remain the same. End of story: Podcast Advertising The British government’s approval of a coronavirus vaccine (in general, any vaccine, not tied to a specific manufacturer) before the completion of clinical trials is an absolutely unprecedented event. A year ago, the very idea of registering a drug – let alone a vaccine intended for mass use – before all the tests had been completed would have caused a major scandal in the scientific world and could have put an end to the most brilliant medical career. After all, the early start of vaccination means that millions of people will voluntarily or involuntarily become guinea pigs for the drug, which may have unexpected side effects. But Hippocrates also wrote that treating hopeless patients requires extraordinary measures. To contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has had to take many unprecedented steps. And with one and a half million lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic in less than a year, the early approval of the vaccine no longer seems like absolute madness.