How the U.K. Approved Pfizer ’s COVID-19 Vaccine Faster Than the U.S. and Europe

The U.K. became the first western country to authorize the use of a COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 1, when its medicines regulator gave the greenlight to the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave the authorization at record speed, just three weeks after Pfizer published the first data from the final stage of its clinical trial. Later results showed the vaccine to be 95% effective in preventing illness from COVID-19. The announcement raises expectations for the impending decisions by regulators in the U.S. and the E.U., who are still poring over data from the vaccine’s trials. China and Russia approved vaccines for use in some groups in June and August respectively, without waiting for the results of large-scale efficacy trials. The speed of the U.K.’s emergency authorization—at a time when the British government is aggressively seeking to boost its image after a poor handling of the pandemic—has raised eyebrows among European politicians and health experts. But British regulators say their rapid approval of the vaccine did not cut corners. “We have carried out a rigorous scientific assessment of all the available evidence of quality, safety and effectiveness,” MHRA Chief Executive, Dr. June Raine, said in a statement. “The public’s safety has always been at the forefront of our minds—safety is our watchword.” Here’s how the U.K. fas...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news